Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

The Clock Turned.

Celebi was confused.

Celebi had been swimming through time for aeons, and had thus become rather adept with the mechanics of the thing.

There was a grand clock overseeing the world, and a veil hovered over it. Celebi could travel through the veil and back again, only to appear in a new time.

Time had always seemed funny to Celebi. Celebi felt rather bad for Dialga, having to manage it. Dialga must have forgotten about the forest, because time always seemed funny when Celebi traversed through the woods.

Celebi never spent much time pondering that, instead wandering in and out of the veil, seeing the sights of the past and the future, and blessing those lucky few who saw it with vision.

But time hadn’t ever been difficult for Celebi to grasp. Aside from the exception, time followed a straight path, forward and back.

What happened remained so. Even by travelling to the past, Celebi’s presence never changed the turn of the clock.

Celebi only had to worry of getting a headache when it ran into the exception of this rule.

The Creator - in all its wisdom - had chosen a champion for every generation to carry out its will, nudging events a certain way to stay within the plan.

While time never broke or damaged, it had always felt strained to Celebi when it saw these individuals.

Which was a shame, because some were rather nice.

Celebi peered down as it realised where it was, and why everything was confused .

The Chosen Champion stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. Celebi briefly wondered if she would jump, but saw that she was instead kneeling in prayer.

Celebi decided to visit her. The Creator always chose those who held great power in their hearts, which meant that Celebi could reveal itself without fear of driving people Mad.

Celebi fluttered down next to the girl's head. Celebi thought most humans were cute, and a few of them ugly, but this one was rather beautiful in her wildness.

The girl opened her eyes and saw Celebi. Brownish-red eyes widened at the sight of the Mythical, but the girl did not go mad. Instead, the girl bowed.

“ Re-Vaa ,” The girl breathed in a tone of reverence.

Celebi tilted its head. It had never understood why humans treated it with such respect. It was just a wanderer of time, not like the Great Gods of Order.

Silly humans!

Celebi giggled to itself as it patted the girl’s cheeks. The girl had almost flinched, but seemed too shocked by the contact.

Celebi flew back and giggled into its hands, unconsciously mimicking one of its friends. Celebi turned back to the girl, and popped a question.

Most humans didn’t understand when Celebi tried to speak to them. It didn’t fault them. Humans were silly, and spoke in silly tongues!

However, it seemed the girl had understood by how her breath hitched. Celebi had been surprised the first time this had happened, but it had learned that it was a blessing from the Creator, glory to its name.

“ Ay Shie Rite-Aasa, Na Zhe Vhe Kle en Charyeh Adon Gre, ” The girl explained, waving animatedly towards the sky.

Celebi turned her head to look skyward, only to hear a muffled laugh from the girl.

It turned back, eyes wide as the girl laughed, “ de Naa-Vahl! de Naa-Vahl! ” She giggled a few times, before asking, “ Nema de Vaa? ”

Celebi blinked at the question. It must be far in the past if the silly human didn’t know its name!

“Celebi!” Celebi chirped. The Creator had made it so that, while pokémon could understand each other on an instinctual level, they still verbalised their own names for when humans came around, so that they could learn their names as well!

The girl’s eyes gleamed with interest, but not with recognition, “ See-La-Bee? ”

Celebi flicked the silly girl on the head, eliciting a hiss from the funny creature. It repeated its name, causing the girl to frown.

“ Seh-La-Bee? de Ensa See-La-Bee Maso. ” The girl smirked before saying in a sing-song, “ Ay Nema de Bee! ”

Celebi gasped - this vile girl! - It wasn’t a bee!

Celebi tugged on the girl’s hair, gnawing with its pitiful teeth on the girl’s scalp - ew, lice, spit it out - before being knocked off.

Celebi frowned - if it was capable of doing so, it would have scowled - as the girl laughed, “ Bee! Bee! ”

Celebi blew its tongue at the girl and began to float towards the veil - the girl didn’t see the veil.

The girl shouted out in surprise, “ de Valve Tiem? ”

Celebi turned back, only for the earth to shake.

Celebi was surprised and worried. It wasn’t worried for itself, though, it was worried for the girl.

The girl seemed to recognize the danger, having become deathly pale, “ Grau-Adon …” She turned back and gave a sharp whistle, “ Raa-La-Kin! ”

A roar echoed by the cliffside, and a feathered Salamence flew from the horizon as the cliffside shook. The girl leaped onto the dragon’s back just as the cliffside crumbled beneath her.

Celebi turned down, and hastily hovered away as spires of magma shot up, heralding the arrival of the Behemoth of the Land.

Primal Groudon roared , causing the sun above to seemingly double in heat.

The Salamence bellowed out in pain from the increase in temperature, the edges of its feathers blackening under the heat of the sun.

Celebi almost felt compelled to help - even though it knew it couldn’t - but it knew that the girl and the dragon would live in the end.

The girl had the blessing of Rayquaza, after all.

Not to mention being the Chosen of the Creator.

Celebi blinked, and the heat was gone, instead replaced with a bitter cold.

The Clock Turned.

Another Place. Another Time.

Celebi blinked, and only just shot back to avoid a spiralling beam of fire, ice, and lightning.

The earth was shaking below. The earth always shook when The Chosen raged.

Thunder flashed above - red, yellow, and blue - quaking across the skies as a primordial vortex hovered above them.

Below, Celebi could see two humans and a dragon - a very large dragon.

Oh, no, Celebi was wrong. There were lots of dragons, smaller than the big one, but bigger than the silly humans.

The humans were fighting each other, and - oh my - the green-haired one just cast Thunderbolt from his fingers. Was he another of the Chosen?

Celebi floated a bit closer, in view of the green-haired man, but he didn’t see it, instead shouting out in a harsh tone, “ JHE DAHYI KIIN! ”

Celebi frowned - the man was distressed, happy, sad, angry, Mad - turning to see the other human, who the green-haired man presumably addressed.

The boy - Celebi hesitated to say that the human was fully grown - was in tears, but there was resolve in his eyes as he responded, “ de Dinjha Arkeu .”

At his words, the big dragon above them roared - rage boiling boiling BOILING - and descended upon the child.

With a start, Celebi fluttered back - and for a moment, the child’s eyes became alarmed - as a veritable Madness brought shivers to Celebi’s spine.

The battle, which had briefly paused, resumed in a beautiful terror. The green-haired man and the great dragon fought together, their souls twisting writhing in a distortion of the Creator’s wishes.

Celebi shivered from the cold - it always got cold when the veil was weak - and tried to flee, only to freeze at the green-haired man’s scream.

“ ARKEU-KIN, AY SHEVARR DE NEMA! ” The man’s scream was wild, frantic, Mad Mad Mad .

Before long, the earth began to shake as the man screamed , and the boy cried out as well, though he seemed to keep more of his faculties.

Celebi began to shiver more and more, staring into the eyes of the great dragon - The forsaken god of Truth and Ideals - as it shook… and split.

Celebi saw no more.

The Clock Turned.

Another Place. Another Time.

Celebi blinked, and the primaeval cold of the veil was replaced with the cold of the mountains.

Celebi shivered still, no longer feeling the discomfort of the veil, but rather its own.

Two places, two times, both of the Chosen.

And with the stillness in the air, this was the third.

Celebi whimpered as its headache began to grow.

Below, two humans stood across from each other in a temple turned battleground.

Pokémon long extinct littered the newly demolished ruins, unconscious, bleeding, dying.

take one look past the veil

Celebi shook its head as the blonde man laughed hysterically.

He was weeping.

“ Nei… Nei! ” The Mad man cried out - begged - “ Nei, Int-O Dah! ”

The other human - another child - took a step back, betrayal and fear on their face as the blonde man broke down.

“ Jhey Aave? ” Celebi felt tears spring in its eyes from the desolation in the man’s voice, “ Aave-Kyu Jhey Mesf - Vaa-Kyu en Jhey Mesf? ”

Celebi squeaked in terror as the world around them twisted and distorted .

And from the rift of the veil’s shadow, Giratina emerged.

The blonde man shot forward, eyes triangular slits as he exclaimed, “ Gaero-Taenna! Char de Arkeu-Kin! ”

Celebi closed its eyes. It couldn’t watch. It knew that everything was fine in the end but what if it wasn’t? What if things changed? What if the veil was destroyed?

poor creature

it already was

The Clock Turned.

Another Place. Another Time.

Celebi blinked, and held its eyes shut.

It wasn’t real if it didn’t see it.

An ear-splitting roar caused Celebi to tumble back, unwittingly opening its eyes.

There was a storm around them - rain and fire - spiralling around the ancient stone tower that stood over the cliffside.

The same cliffside with the silly girl…

A voice - old, manic, and steady - commanded, “ Blast Burn , Char-Kin!”

Celebi tried to look away, but it couldn’t . Instead watching in trepidation as a large, black Charizard blasted forth a blinding blue sun of flame.

“You’re blind , Seyasa!” The man with the old voice shouted, “You haven’t seen the Truth !”

“You’re insane! ” Cried the woman across from him, sporting burns across her arms.

This didn’t stop the woman from extending her arms, calling on her aura, and redirecting the Blast Burn metres away from her.

Celebi clutched its head - the woman held the Will of the Creator - as the man laughed, “Insane?! No, Seyasa. I’m Mad, ” He began to laugh even more - and Celebi thought it began to sound like weeping - “And I would rather be Mad than insane.”

The woman shouted out in anger, commanding her Hydreigon and Sceptile forth to attack, “You’ve doomed us, Zeverithe! You’ve doomed the Clan with your Madness !”

The man laughed hysterically as a cold wind solidified into a wall of ice around him, protecting him from her pokémons’ attacks, “ I doomed us? You are doom incarnate, Arkeu-Kin .”

The woman screamed in fury, and the man laughed .

Celebi covered its ears. Don’t listen to the man’s words. Humans don’t know about the veil. The veil is a secret. The veil is our salvation.

the veil is our doom.

The Clock Turned.

Another Place. Another Time.

Celebi blinked, and, oh , Celebi felt ice shimmer on its fingers. The veil was wailing.

There was a lone man kneeling in a field of roses. A field of blood.

Between his fingers, a flower grew.

A flower wilted.

A flower died.

It blew away with the wind.

The man turned his head upwards, and met eyes with Celebi.

His eyes were pure darkness.

“... Celebi ,” The man breathed, still kneeling.

Celebi knew what was coming. It had seen this man before.

So many Chosen. So many great humans.

Tens.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

The Will of the Creator.

Why must this one have broken away?

“...Why are you here, my little traveller?” The man asked, a singular eye peeking from behind greying hair.

This man had the potential to be so Great.

It saddened Celebi how far he fell.

Celebi said nothing, instead dropping down to examine the flower in the man’s hand.

It was a purple hyacinth. Wilted. Dead.

The man saw what Celebi was examining, and choked out, “ I tried to bring her back. ”

Celebi looked up, and shivered.

There were pinpricks of red in the man’s dark gaze.

“ I tried… ” The man wheezed, sounding broken, sounding Mad.

The Madness was not something to rage against.

The Madness was something to mourn.

“ I tried… ” The man weeped, clutching a key to his chest.

Celebi didn’t speak. It knew that what was done couldn’t be undone.

Such was the Will of the Creator.

it is a most terrible thing, is it not?

Celebi expected to be whisked away - to see several Chosens back to back was never good - but it wasn’t.

Because there were tWo ChOseNNns innNNn IiiIttTtssS pPresSeNNceee

Celebi flashed away, startling the weeping man.

But Celebi didn’t see didn’t care.

There were two.

There shouldn’t be two.

Something had gone very very wrong.

“AZ!”

Celebi turned against its will.

And there stood the Chosen.

The Will of the Creator.

Against the Chosen before him.

Celebi cried out as the veil screamed.

And the Turn of the Clock stuttered…

…

And the Fallen Chosen fell.

The Clock Turned.

Another Place. Another Time.

Another Time.

Another Time.

By the Turn of the Clock.

shall our souls be crushed.

Celebi blinked, and there stood two boys, two places, two times.

The boys were young, innocent , but they held the Will of the Creator.

The boys looked up, and gave twin gasps of astonishment as the rainbow-winged legendary flew above them.

Then… they split. And one boy was enveloped in darkness, and the other in light.

Celebi closed its eyes as the headache from earlier reemerged, and the boys both clutched their heads as well.

BY THE TURN OF THE CLOCK

NO! NO! NO! NO! N-

YOU SHALL KNOW YOUR DESTINY

THE BOYS SCREAMED IN AGONY

THE BOY IN DARKNESS STARTED LAUGHING

THE BOY IN LIGHT STARTED BLEEDING

THE BOYS BOTH WEPT

GO FORTH

THE EARTH SHOOK

THE CLOCK TURNED

THE WORLD SPIRALLED

THE VEIL SHIMMERED

GO FORTH

THE STORM RAGED

THE LEGENDS WARRED

THE DARKNESS REIGNED

THE LIGHT GREW OVERWHELMING

GO FORTH

GO FORTH

MY CHARIOT

GO FORTH

ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

…

Route 34, Outskirts of Ilex Forest, November 1st, 1997

“ Water Blade and Fire Claw . Keep it clean.”

Froakie and Charmander both nodded once before lunging at each other, blazing blue flames against pressurised water.

Red watched, scratching down miniscule notes on his pad. Words that were written in mere millimetres catalogued the growth of his pokémon, and how they had adapted in their new forms.

Pichu had his redirection trick, and could endure far more electrical energy than most Pikachu . Froakie had nearly mastered pressurising small amounts of water for heavy force, which, as Red had learned, turned deadly when used against enemies. Charmander’s flames were getting stronger, but could only be kept under control in small quantities at the moment.

Froakie and Charmander battled for several minutes, perfecting their respective techniques. Despite Froakie’s typing having a natural edge over Charmander, Red found that the lizard wasn’t nearly as susceptible to water as he had been before.

Red added another tick mark to Charmander now potentially being part-Dragon Type.

Red’s shoulders began to go numb, so Red shifted them around. He wore a heavy contraption on his back that, in all honesty, wasn’t meant to be portable, but such things hadn’t ever mattered to Red.

Within the contraption was a pokeball, newer than the other three that Red owned. Multiple tubes and wires were stuck to the pokeball, keeping it stable as the creature within slowly healed.

the light was overwhelming.

Indeed. Indeed, it was. But the light… the light was a part of Red now. It worried him. It confused him . But, in the end, Red had other things to worry about.

The Emperor… All of Team Source knew of him.

Red hadn’t thought through it for those first few days, having slept for most of it.

Red… had panicked, which was never a good thing.

While others panicked over small, inconsequential things and usually acted rashly, Red was different.

After all the years of near cataclysms and legendary excursions, Ash had learned implicitly that he couldn’t afford to panic, because the consequences would be dire.

But… He hated to say it , but he was only human.

There had been times that he panicked, during the Storm.

During his fights with the Chariot.

And Ash had learned that he dealt with panic differently than most everyone else - just like everything else in his life. While others acted rashly… Ash didn’t react at all.

He shut himself away.

Ash was an emotional creature, and emotions… They clouded judgement in a time where any mistake was fatal.

Back then, Ash ran hot . If he ever got emotional, everyone would see and hear it rather loudly.

Now, though, for several years now, Red ran cold . The emotions he felt never went away, but he didn’t, couldn’t show them on the surface.

Lest he lose control.

Go Forth.

He didn’t remember much of what happened between speaking with the Emperor and returning to the Pokémon Center. He doubted that he would even remember coming to the Pokémon Center if it wasn’t for his jaw being dislocated.

Karen held a surprising amount of strength.

Red shook his head of the thought as Froakie finally fell backwards, exhausted, causing Charmander to release a small puff of blue flame in victory.

Red returned to his thoughts over Team Source, and what he learned.

Team Source knew who he was, and that he was explicitly against them.

Intellectually, Red knew that this would inevitably be the case. It didn’t make him feel any less uneasy.

There had apparently been unusual energy readings that traced back to him.

And to this, Red silently raged.

He needed to find a way to hide himself from Team Source.

But for the life of him, he didn’t know how.

He had changed.

Mutated.

evolved

He didn’t see it - he barely remembered it - but Froakie depicted to Red what happened down there a day after it was done.

And Froakie had seemed far more perturbed than ever before.

let there be light

Red shivered as a pulse of light came from his back - from the Changeling - yet he found comfort in the cold.

The light was a part of Red now.

And that was the crux of the problem, wasn’t it?

Before, Red had contended with himself over his inexplicable ability to hold three types of aura.

Fighting, Dark, and Electric.

Yet… Yet, it was so much worse than he initially thought.

He twisted the pipes with his mind.

He bellowed forth an inferno from his maw.

He had called forth a ball of light from his soul.

Red breathed in and out, holding onto his composure as the Emperor’s words came back to him.

“I must absolutely ask - both for myself, and, I suspect, for yourself.”

“What are you?”

Not Who …

What.

What are you, Red?

go forth

go forth

“You’re Dangerous.”

An Aura Sphere blasting through the woods.

A rift, carved through the forest, that stretched for kilometres.

“You don’t just do that and walk it off like it’s nothing!”

…

and yet You did

go forth

Red swallowed as Pichu hopped off to battle against Charmander.

You’re dangerous.

Red knew that. Red knew that.

But dangerous to whom?

Froakie hopped up to Red - slightly seared, needs a potion - and croaked a question.

Red knelt down, undoing the straps around his shoulders to set down the machine next to him and Froakie, “He’s healing.” He felt the creature’s mind give a dim glow in his scant hours of sleep. “He’ll live.”

Red didn’t know whether he was trying to reassure Froakie or himself. Had he been an hour later to the Pokémon Center, the poor creature would have passed.

All the same, Froakie’s face didn’t change, but his posture relaxed minutely.

Froakie had grown a rather acute attachment to the creature. While Froakie certainly loved Pichu and Charmander as brothers, they had more than enough strength to look after themselves.

Yet, as Red had learned from the files from the base, the Changeling wasn’t any older than six months old.

It was a baby.

When Froakie learned this, Red had the unique experience of calming Froakie down from a rage.

This wasn’t to say that Red didn’t rage with him. A certain patch of trees mysteriously shattered along the road. But with everything going on around him, Red had to keep a level mind.

He had to.

Just the morning after finding the Changeling, Red was confronted by Nurse Joy about the creature, and why he and his pokémon looked like hell.

Red remained vague in his answers, and made sure to reschedule his Gym match as soon as possible so that he could leave before the League decided that they needed to keep him there for questioning.

It was… too close. Nurse Joy hounded him relentlessly, and had even gone so far as to connect with her sister in Silver Town, which gave her extra ammunition to pester Red with.

In the end, it came down to one of two choices.

Neither of them were good, and, dare he say it, one was evil.

But it was also necessary.

“You are aware that we control the League.”

Red wasn’t certain of the extent that this statement held true.

But he remembered the investigations within the League leading up to the Storm.

And Team Source did have a heavy presence within.

With this in mind, it ultimately became a choice of whether he allowed Team Source the chance to reclaim the Changeling.

And he wouldn’t - couldn’t - by whatever means necessary.

Red shivered as he remembered the feeling of his aura when he did it.

Light.

Writhing.

Overwhelming.

Ravenous.

He recalled the feeling of wistfulness, of forgetfulness, when Karen had attempted using Amnesia on him.

And he used it to fuel his own use of Amnesia on Nurse Joy.

And… it worked. It worked so well that Nurse Joy remained almost inebriated as Red forcibly detached the machine that slowly healed the Changeling’s internal injuries - of which there were too many - and only seemed to loosen to a fine mist mere hours before Red was ready to leave.

By that time, Red had already rescheduled his Gym Match - which Whitney put for the next day - and had won, though with some more difficulties, given that his pokémons’ injuries had yet to fully heal.

Neither Salvare or Karen were there to watch.

Yet, they still travelled by him.

At first, Red thought they would leave. For two days after the punch, he hadn’t spoken to either of them, instead feeling rather than seeing their glances in his direction as he trained, as he argued with Nurse Joy, and as he silently held his head in his hands and breathed .

This ended when Red was a few minutes away from leaving. Salvare had crept up far too close without Red noticing - the kid could be deathly silent when he wanted to be - and had simply asked, “Are you leaving?”

When Red confirmed that he was, Salvare turned back to Karen’s scowling form and nodded, “Okay… lead the way.”

And to this, Red didn’t say anything. What could he say?

That he feared that history was repeating itself?

That he could see the devotion Salvare showed him, and that it scared him?

Terrified him.

But Red didn’t say anything, because whatever he could say would only make things worse.

Judgement was a follower of the Chariot.

And now Salvare is a follower of Red.

What was Red supposed to do? Raise Salvare up into a sycophant the same way that the Chariot did?

No.

No!

I’m not like you!

yes you are

Red shivered for reasons inexplicable.

It wasn’t cold.

Yet Red shivered all the same.

Red shut his thoughts away as he looked up. It was nighttime now, and Red idly wondered when the last time was that he had slept for more than three hours without interruption.

And Red’s eyes glowed against the moonlight.

They hadn’t stopped glowing for days.

Red blinked as Pichu hopped up onto his shoulder and tapped him on the cheek. Red turned and gave a small - empty - smile at Pichu’s prideful look. It seemed that the small mouse had taken down Charmander, though the lizard had already been drained by fighting Froakie.

Deciding that it was a good time for his pokémon to rest, Red strapped the healing machine back onto his shoulders and began walking back to his camp.

His camp that he had set up half a kilometre away from Salvare and Karen’s.

Red spared a small detour on his way to his patch of grass, watching Salvare’s sleeping form for a few moments.

Don’t think about the worry in his eyes when he looks at you.

Don’t think about the guilt in his eyes when he looks at you.

There are only two fates from following you.

Damnation.

Or Death.

Judgement had already suffered one from the Chariot, and the other from you.

Is it truly fate that Salvare shall suffer the same?

Red turned his head, and walked away.

As his travelling companions and pokémon slept, Red stayed awake and watched the stars.

…

Hall of Champions, Indigo Plateau

“Never took yeh for a stargazer, Lance.”

Lance refrained from jumping - the old bat had snuck up on him, again - and turned his head, small wisps of latent draconic energy seeping back into his skin, “It’s a beautiful night.”

“Aye, I suppose so,” Agatha murmured, giving an apathetic glance upwards, “Anythin’ particularly interestin’ up there?”

“Nothing major,” Lance answered before sharpening his gaze, “Is there something I need to know?”

Agatha paused for a moment, before giving a sharp grin that was mirrored by her shadow, “Ah, that would be telling wouldn’t it?” She gave a bit of a smug smile as Lance frowned, “Perhaps we could make a trade?”

“Oh?” Lance questioned - so Agatha did know something - “You have permission from the other Guardians to do so?”

Agatha smirked, though her eyes flashed at Lance’s confirmation of his knowledge of the Aura Guardians’ existence.

And, really, he had known for a while. He just didn’t see any reason to stick his foot into the old woman’s business.

But with the recent events in his region, he felt fit to play his hand.

“So the dragon child knows of our existence, aye?” Agatha purred, undertone with a quavering growl from her shadow, “And how did you come to know, hmm? Did your Elders tell you?”

“Of you personally, no. Of the Aura Guardians’ existence, yes,” Lance sighed as he leaned back, “I don’t mean to come off as antagonistic. We both ultimately want the same thing.”

Agatha snorted rather loudly, “Doubtful, but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you were told,” She then eyes him with more than a little interest, “I’m more intrigued at how you held it in. You’ve never been one to keep your thoughts to yourself, Lance.”

Lance scowled momentarily, earning a grin from Agatha, before smoothing his face, “I had other things to worry about. Besides, like I said, you weren’t an issue.”

Agatha sniffed, “A naive outlook… but you’re young,” She flashed a toothy smile, wisps of cruel energy wrapping around her, “We’ll wring it out of you yet.”

Lance rolled his eyes, “I’m glad you’re so enthusiastic about it. Would you rather I have put you on the same threat level as Team Rocket?”

“Please,” Agatha scoffed, though her tone was moderately good-natured, “We’re infinitely more dangerous than those scoundrels.”

“Then why haven’t you been able to wipe them out?” Lance asked, causing Agatha to snap her mouth shut with a glare. He sighed, dragging a hand through his hair, “They’re more than mere scoundrels, Agatha. They’ve been getting far more active in the past few years.”

Agatha remained silent for a moment, then she snapped her fingers and her shadow transformed into a grinning chair of velvet ichor, “You’re rather passionate about it.”

Lance grimaced, “It’s not just Team Rocket. There are other threats to the region. Poachers can be found in most cities. Cipher cells have started sprouting up in the Orre border. There’s the whole fiasco with Bill’s Lighthouse, too,” Lance almost added one more thing to the list - specifically the red-eyed trainer on their watchlist - “And we have rangers set up in the cities to help, but it’s not enough .”

“Goodness, you are passionate about this,” Agatha hummed, tapping her cane on the ground a few times as she thought, “Why not do something about it, then? You are Champion of the region.”

Lance sighed, “I… drafted an idea for Mr. Goodshow. It’s an interregional government organisation that looks to combat these threats. It would involve detective work, infiltration, and the such,” Lance explained, not seeing Agatha’s mildly interested face, “It would essentially be an extension of the Ranger Corps, just more specialised towards organised crime rather than small-scale things.”

“Akin to the Indigo Corps of the Great War?” Agatha asked with a vicious grin, causing Lance to grit his teeth.

“ Yes ,” Lance hissed - the Indigo Corps had been responsible for many deaths in the Clan - “I suppose it would be.”

Agatha cackled, “Oh… You know what, I like that idea,” Her grin was positively sharklike as she continued, “You’d surely get support from Surge, maybe Blaine too. Giovanni would probably be interested as well.”

“No!” Lance stood up, draconic wisps briefly escaping him, “They can’t have a part of this. None of the Gym Leaders can.”

“Oh?” Agatha questioned with a frown, “Not even those who are part of the Guardians?”

Lance narrowed his eyes at the old woman, “ No . I don’t have anything definitive, but I am almost sure that Team Rocket has an in with the League.”

Agatha raised her eyebrows, “Really? You think one of the Gym Leaders has turned traitor?”

“I don’t know about that, per se, but one could be unknowingly sharing information to the wrong people,” Lance sighed to himself, “Just… don’t worry about it Agatha. It likely won’t ever come to fruition anyway, what with Goodshow putting it off.”

Agatha stayed silent for a moment before leaning back, “Why should that stop you?”

Lance blinked, “What do you mean?”

Lance could’ve sworn that he heard Agatha’s skin twist as she rolled her eyes, “Are you Champion or not, boy? We may be a part of the World League, but we’re not beholden to it.”

Lance blinked again, then smacked himself in the forehead, “ I’m an idiot. ”

“I don’t disagree,” Agatha snarked, though Lance wasn’t paying particular attention, instead muttering ideas to himself.

After a few minutes, Agatha began to cough into her hand, attempting to catch his attention. Failing that, she got up and struck her cane against the back of his leg, prompting him to swear rather exotically.

“...You’ll have to teach me that,” Agatha remarked as she sat back down, ignoring Lance’s glare, “I’ve always wanted to learn Draconic profanity.”

“ Of course you would, ” Lance muttered to himself, “Why did you do that?”

“Because it would be funny, which it was,” Agatha hummed amusedly, “But we were also talkin’ of a trade.”

Lance raised an eyebrow, “Who says that what you have to share is valuable?”

“Please,” Agatha scoffed, “I’m not one to blow smoke up yer ass. You have your clan to do that for you,” Ignoring Lance’s scowl at the jab, she continued, “It relates to our primary coloured problem.”

Lance’s eyes flashed, “ Ah, of course you all were onto him as well,” Lance sighed to himself, “I take it you know of his aura capabilities?”

Agatha raised an eyebrow, “Indeed we did… It’s not every day a Rogue Aura Guardian comes out of the woodwork.”

Lance nodded to himself, idly confirming that Satoshi wasn’t associated with Agatha and her group, “In that case, give me an idea of what information you have on him.”

“Oh?” Agatha’s aura flared, seeing as she no longer had to suppress it since Lance knew of their organisation, “And why should I?”

“I won’t give you my information unless yours is actually worthwhile,” Lance answered, willing his voice to remain hard against the veteran elite, “I’d rather not give away my information just to learn something I already knew.”

Agatha hummed to herself, watching Lance with a discerning eye.

The dragon child had grown harder.

Perhaps the Summit did him good.

“Well, you drive a hard bargain, dragon child,” Agatha sniffed, wiping away a fake tear, “I’m so proud…”

“Are you going to share, or not?” Lance asked, a tired scowl marring his face.

“Bah! Fine, fine,” Agatha leaned back, “How about this: my information comes from someone directly travelling with the man.”

“What?” Lance’s eyes bulged, “Are you talking about - what was his name? - Razzo?”

“No, though the kid is of interest as well,” Agatha murmured, “Before I tell you more, what do you have to share with the class, hmm?”

Lance frowned, turning his head to look at the starry sky, “...Do you swear on your honour to tell me after I tell you?”

Agatha snorted, “Dragon Clans and their honour ,” At Lance’s scowl she waved her hand, “Fine! Fine, I swear on my honour.”

Lance nodded, “In that case… Have you heard about the earthquakes that struck Goldenrod four days ago?”

“I… have,” Agatha answered - Lance noted that her face seemed somewhat guarded - “I heard it wasn’t a natural occurrence.”

“It wasn’t,” Lance confirmed, “I went down there earlier today to speak with Mr. Akane about it.”

“Oh, that must’ve felt like pullin’ teeth out,” Agatha murmured in a ruse of sympathy, “I never liked the man.”

“I can understand that sentiment,” Lance grumbled, “Whitney was much more cooperative with the investigation. We ended up narrowing down the focus point of the quake to the Industrial District, though that was where that trail ended.”

Agatha hummed, “Interesting… I fail to see where Red fits into this.”

“I’m getting there,” Lance said, a touch impatiently, “I heard from Whitney that Satoshi had just left two days ago, and I learned where he had stayed,” Lance’s face twisted into a mixture of anger and uncertainty, “ I’m glad I went. ”

Agatha remained silent, idly watching as Lance’s own aura flared for a moment before he quelled his rage, “What did you find, Lance?”

Lance took a moment to breath, though a scowl was still present on his face as he continued, “I went to talk with Nurse Joy, and something was, just, absolutely wrong ,” Lance shivered , “It was faint. I couldn’t see or feel it, but I could sense it.”

“Sense what?” Agatha asked, actively keeping her voice from sounding snappish.

“ Light ,” Lance shivered again, “I don’t know how else to describe it. It just felt wrong …”

Lance stopped for a moment, and puffed out a wisp of draconic smoke, stabilising himself, “It hung like a cloud around Nurse Joy, making her almost appear to be in a trance ,” Lance repressed another shiver, “It… took a few hours, but I dispelled the light. When she woke up, she remembered things that she hadn’t before. Things about Satoshi .”

Agatha eyed Lance with interest - both for what he said and the revelation of his mind-healing abilities - “What did she remember?”

“On the day of the earthquakes, Satoshi returned in the evening looking, in her words, ‘Like he fought a sleuth of Ursaring with his bare hands.’ All of his registered pokémon needed moderate healing, though his fourth, unregistered pokémon was immediately placed in intensive care,” Lance rubbed his forehead in frustration, “When she questioned him, he remained vague. She was about to call the Rangers to investigate when the light overtook her mind,” Lance moved his hand down to rub his eyes, “Satoshi apparently left on the 29th, and the fourth pokémon with him, along with some expensive medical equipment.”

Agatha remained silent as Lance finished his retelling. Once he was done, she hummed, “Interesting… Very interesting. ”

Lance growled, “It’s more than interesting , Agatha, he’s dangerous !”

“Allow me to play Giratina’s Advocate for a moment, but what if Red wasn’t the one to set the light on the woman?” Agatha asked, her usual smirk no longer present.

“The fact that the light seemed to specifically block memories of Satoshi says otherwise,” Lance grumbled, “If it’s not Satoshi, then it’s either an accomplice or an enemy of his, neither of which are better options.”

“Alright,” Agatha nodded, “Did Nurse Joy see the fourth pokémon?”

“No,” Lance sighed, feeling a small touch of sympathy for the creature - even as a Dragon Master, he never liked to see pokémon being grievously harmed if it was innocent - “It was too wounded to let out of its ball, and Satoshi wasn’t exactly forthcoming in describing it,” He brought his hands up in defeat, muttering to himself, “Why Clair is so enraptured with him is a mystery to me.”

Agatha ignored that last comment, instead looking past Lance towards the night sky, “...I suppose your information was valuable,” She grinned at Lance - he could see that it was strained - “Good for you, dragon child.”

“What about yours?” Lance asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back, “You say that one of yours is travelling with him?”

“Indeed,” Agatha smiled again, though now it was actually genuine, “And given that people only know of Salvare following him, she’s doing a rather good job of keeping her distance.”

“Who is she?” Lance asked.

“Ah,” Agatha raised a finger, “Now that would be telling. Besides, it’s best that she keeps her distance.”

“Why so?” Lance asked, “If anything, it would help.”

“Because Red is dangerous,” Agatha answered, enjoying the way that Lance’s eyes widened at the blunt statement, “Her words, not mine. She also says that he isn’t evil.”

Lance frowned - and Agatha remarked to herself how deep his eyes were in thought - “People can still do evil things with the best of intentions.”

“Perhaps,” Agatha acknowledged, “She has made it clear that she doesn’t think he is good either.”

“Then what is he?” Lance asked no one in particular, his voice laden with frustration.

“...She believes him to be a vessel for something else,” Agatha continued, her voice involuntarily becoming softer, “He holds power that no human should wield.”

Lance stopped and eyed Agatha, eyes narrowed into slits , “ What do you mean? ”

Agatha turned and faced Lance’s draconic eyes head on, “He reportedly moulded his aura into an Aura Sphere that blasted through a line of trees,” She turned to face the sky as Lance gave a sharp intake of breath, “And he wasn’t winded in the slightest.”

She turned back to see Lance’s eyes darting back and forth frantically, whispering under his breath. He abruptly stood up, whistling sharply.

Agatha watched with a raised eyebrow as Lance’s Dragonite soared from below. As Lance prepared to mount the towering dragon, Agatha asked in a yell, “What’s the rush?”

Lance paused and turned back - eyes still narrowed into slits - “Thank you for the information, Agatha, truly,” He turned back to Dragonite, “I need to speak with the Clan. Let the others know that I won’t be back for upwards of three days.”

“Wait!” Agatha hollered out, only to be drowned out by the sound of Dragonite’s wings as Lance flew away, “ Damn you, dragon child. ”

Sharp giggles echoed behind her as Gengar nudged against her leg, “I’m fine yeh little gremlin, just annoyed is all.”

As she began to hobble away, she whispered under her breath, “I didn’t even get the chance to tell him where Red was headin’ next,'' She gave a sharp laugh, “Idiot dragon child. No sense of patience.”

…

Ilex Forest, November 2nd, 1997

“ It’s too cold here. ”

Karen almost snapped back on reflex, though she refrained from doing so for two reasons.

First off, it was the first time either of them had heard Red speak in three days.

Secondly, the inconsiderate bastard was talking to the rat on his shoulder rather than either of them.

She quickly nudged Salvare as the kid - eyes widening like a lost growlithe - turned back to face Red. She frowned and shook her head as the kid looked at her pleadingly.

After a moment, he relented, and the two of them walked through the outer forest as Red whispered in hushed tones with Pichu on his shoulder.

Karen was tempted to try using Extrasensory , but didn’t see it as worth the headache.

Besides, she couldn’t risk Red sensing it.

Something had changed in his aura.

twisted

Red’s footsteps faltered for a moment, and Karen turned back to see him peering past her and into the woods.

His eyes no longer held the craze they had at Goldenrod.

Yet, Karen found herself almost missing the increasingly deranged glint in his eyes. It was tangible . It was identifiable .

Even if it brought chills to her spine, she could identify the danger of his presence.

But now? Red’s eyes were hollow . Glowing, but without the mad depth they had in Goldenrod.

It was almost eerie how much things had changed in one month alone. Before, Red had been cold, yes, but he took time apart in his day to train Salvare, to give praise and attention to the kid who so obviously craved it.

And, really, Karen knew that Salvare wasn’t much younger than they were. But, between Red’s obviously troubled past and her own history, they couldn’t help but treat Salvare as something akin to a younger sibling.

Or at least Karen did. She scowled at Red’s slight - becoming thinner by the day - form. She couldn’t claim to know what the bastard was thinking.

After all, just when she thought she had a read on the man, he turned around and started acting fucking bananas!

Mew above, Goldenrod was a fucking mess .

First, Red cut off all communication and dipped without warning. This led to Salvare freaking out, which led to her freaking out, which led to her getting mad, which led to Salvare getting defensive, which led to her getting furious (but not at Salvare), which led to Salvare getting sad.

Then, Red appears once more, and not even a day later he goes off without a word.

Karen spared a moment to glare at Red’s back. It was times like these that she desperately wished she had a greater control over fire, so that she could burn something more than just paper.

The only reason she hadn’t taken Salvare and left Red was because the kid begged - begged! - to give Red one more chance.

One more chance.

So… Karen relented. However, it was with the understanding that if Red didn’t say or do anything to mend his trust in Salvare by the time they reached Azalea Town - or, God forbid, did something to make Salvare feel even worse - then Karen was leaving.

And she was taking Salvare with her.

A small part of her - ingrained from her training as an Aura Guardian - baulked at the idea of taking another Guardian’s student, even if they were a Rogue.

However, for all intents and purposes, Red had been neglecting Salvare’s teachings in aura, first by outright ignoring it and then by the disappearing acts. So, you know what, Karen didn’t feel all that bad.

Besides, she had already been planning to go down this way, regardless of Red’s presence.

Agatha had asked her to check on Celebi, after all.

Karen wasn’t particularly enthused at the prospect of meeting the mythical pokémon, if she even had the chance to anyways.

Despite Celebi’s status as a peaceful deity, it didn’t make it any less powerful. And it was always a bad business when the legends became agitated.

Honestly, a part of her hoped that they would find themselves on the other side of the forest without ever laying eyes on the creature. Despite the Ilex Forest being the home of the deity, it was very rare for it to allow humans to traverse the inner woods, lest they do irreversible damage, intentional or otherwise.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

If it wasn’t for the few eyewitnesses over the past century giving the exact same description of a shrine in the inner forest, Karen would’ve doubted its existence in the first place.

But now, even just by walking through the outer forest, any remaining doubts she had were swept away.

The place was saturated with aura.

And it felt… off.

twisted

Red stopped again, and Karen opened her mouth to snap when he raised a fist, sharp, almost akin to a military officer.

“...It’s too cold here,” His eyes scanned the forest ahead, pulsing like a flashing alarm.

Karen breathed in through her nose - her patience was kept together by a single thread - “You’ve. Said that. Already .”

Red’s eyes flickered to her - annoyed, resigned, guilty, broken - “But it’s not cold .”

Karen nearly shouted for the man to make sense when Salvare stepped ahead of her, “Er… I don’t… feel cold?”

Red’s eyes flickered and turned to Karen, “Do you?”

Oh, NOW you talk.

Karen opened her mouth to say ‘no’ - along with a few choice swear words for the man - but she paused when she actually stopped and considered that, yes, it was actually oddly chilly, “...Yes.”

Red nodded to himself as if it was expected, eyes flicking for a moment to Salvare before turning back to the forest, “...Perhaps it’s because you’re Poison type.”

Karen internally fumed as Red brushed off Salvare - once again - as he muttered to himself. Karen caught a few words such as ‘ Light ’ and ‘ Fairy ’ before focusing on Salvare.

“You alright, kid?” She asked in a whisper.

“...Yeah,” Salvare grunted back, though it didn’t take a genius that he was lying.

Karen pursed her lips, her worry for the kid outweighing her growing hatred for the man in front of them, “Just remember that you always have me, alright?”

She didn’t like the way that sounded to her ears, and she really didn’t like how Salvare looked down - incomprehensible emotions flashing on his face - “...Thanks.”

Karen gave a strained smile, only to frown when Red asked from behind, “Are your Elder Guardians aware of something going on here?”

Karen scowled, turning to face Red, “What makes you say that?”

Red’s eyes glowed - though they no longer held the menace they had before, only exhaustion - “ You wouldn’t have come here otherwise. ”

Karen felt a spike in her aura - anger, protectiveness, danger - “Oh? And why wouldn’t I?”

“ You hate me, ” Red said in monotone, “ You would have left if there wasn’t something else here. ”

Karen felt a part of her snap as she growled, “And who says that it’s something in this forest, huh?” She extended her arm towards Salvare, “ I’m here to keep him from spiralling out of control because of you . ”

Red’s eyes flashed - and Karen could see deep, deep sadness in his eyes - “Then why don’t you both leave?”

Before Karen could fly off the handle, Salvare made a strangled noise, “ S-Stop… ”

However, Red didn’t stop, instead turning his eyes to Salvare - still glowing - “ Why should I? I’m dangerous , Salvare, ” He took a step towards them, mouth quivering before straightening in determination - desperation - “ There are only two things you can get from me, Salvare, and those are Death and Damnation. ”

“Oh, Bullshit! Don’t go all self-righteous on us!” Karen yelled, pointing her finger to Red’s face, “People call me fuckin’ melodramatic, but you’re insane , Red!” She extended her hands, her aura causing her hair to almost crackle in rage, “Do you have something to prove to yourself , Red? Is there some sort of unimaginable curse on your soul that neither of us know about? Because right now it seems like you’re making shit up to get rid of us! ”

One of Red’s pokeballs flashed, and Karen jumped back as Charmander roared - its eyes narrowed to triangular slits. As Karen’s eyes widened at the flames building in the lizard’s mouth, Red’s voice pierced through the forest, “ CHARMANDER, STAND DOWN!”

Karen felt her heart beat loudly against her chest as Charmander eyed her, flames still building in its maw, before slowly closing it, releasing steam from its nostrils. Red recalled Charmander with a scowl as turned to Salvare, “ I would like to apologise. ”

Salvare’s eyes widened, but Red continued before he could, “ It was a mistake to take you in, ” Karen could see Salvare’s soul being crushed within his eyes, “ It was selfish of me to drag you into my mess without your consent, and for that, I would like to apologise. ”

Karen seethed for a moment, but stopped as Salvare whispered, defeated, “...Why can’t I help?”

Karen grit her teeth at the kid. Red didn’t deserve him.

And, for what it was worth, Red looked genuinely sorrowful , “You can’t, Salvare…” He turned to Karen, looking far more remorseful than before, “You should go with her… She’ll do good by you, Salvare. Better than I ever have,” Red gave a humourless laugh - sounding far too exhausted for any single man - “Get as far away from me as you can. As far away as you can. ”

Karen silently gawked at Red’s words - and the fact that he praised her over himself - while Salvare tried to reason with Red, “...But what about you?”

“ What about me? ” Red’s voice suddenly became bitter, “ I can’t escape. Not anymore, ” He sighed, petting Pichu’s whimpering form, “ Not ever. ”

Karen felt a cold draft - unnatural - blow through the forest. She rose up, peering at Red with the same hard glare, but no longer holding quite as much hatred, “Why not?”

However, Red was no longer paying attention to them, instead staring intensely into the deeper woods.

Karen almost asked again, more aggressively, when he whispered in a harsh tone, “ Celebi’s hurt. ”

What?

He knows about Celebi-

Celebi’s hurt?

Before she could ask how he knew these things, Red broke off into a sprint. She cursed, scrambling with Salvare to go after him.

But his form was disappearing behind the mist - and it was getting so cold - and Karen screamed at him, commanding him to come back.

But, he didn’t.

And a mist surrounded them.

Karen’s aura was quivering against the mist - as if hurt by it - lashing out by the hairs that stood on her arms.

Agatha had said that Celebi was acting moody recently…

If this is what she meant by that, then the old woman had some serious explaining to do!

Salvare tried calling after Red again, but his voice was drowned out when all around them a ghastly wail echoed across the woods.

Hurting.

“ Salvare, stick with me, ” Karen hissed, reeling in her aura to keep some semblance of control - they were trespassing in the domain of a legend, which always invited retaliation, even from one as peaceful as the Guardian of the Forest - “ Don’t let me out of your sight. ”

Salvare breathed in and out - he was silently freaking out, but she could see him trying to remain rational - “Okay.”

Karen kept Salvare in her view, only allowing herself mere milliseconds to blink.

She was afraid that if he went out of sight for more than a second, he would disappear into the mist.

“...Do you think Red’s alright?” Salvare asked in a hushed tone.

Karen nearly snapped at the kid, “ Why do you care? ”

Salvare grimaced, seeming almost resigned at caring for the man who had just told him to leave minutes ago , “Well… He’s in the mist-”

“ No! Why do you care about him in the first place?! ” Karen snapped, “I’m serious, Salvare. Why do you follow him? ”

Salvare almost seemed taken aback by the question, and his reaction caused Karen to reel back herself.

Does he not have a reason?

“I… I… ” Salvare stuttered, trying and failing to articulate just why he follows Red.

He… didn’t.

Karen’s face was grim, “Salvare…” Her eyes widened, “ Get Down! ”

Karen tried to rush to Salvare and push him down, but a sudden overwhelming pressure on her senses knocked her on the ground.

Karen blacked out for a moment, but regained consciousness seconds later. She quickly turned her head to see that, yes, Salvare was still here, and had flattened himself to the floor as the mist around them grew heavy with light .

Not unlike the light that she felt in Red’s aura over the past few days.

“ Are you alright? ” Salvare whispered, not seeming nearly as affected by the mist as Karen.

She breathed in and stopped herself from shivering - it was cold - “ I’m fine. ”

Salvare frowned, and she knew that he saw through her words.

All the same, Karen moved to stand back up, biting back curses at the phantom pains in her lungs.

It took a moment for her focus to recenter, but when it did she became aware that they were no longer in the forest.

They were on the top of a tower.

Salvare sidled up next to Karen, calling out Feraligatr and Haunter as he did so. Karen followed his lead and let out Umbreon and Houndour.

Karen tried to use her secondary Fire-type aura to heat the two of them up - they were caught in a blizzard - but she had far too little experience in controlling the element.

And it was so cold.

After a moment too much of shivering, Karen commanded, “Houndour, Ember on the ground next to us, to keep us warm.”

The hound obeyed, and Karen found only minor relief from the flames.

To her side, Salvare huddled up closer to the fire, teeth chattering as he asked, “Where are we?”

Karen’s face remained grim as she looked around - and, though it was hidden in the icy-blue blizzard, the mist remained - “...Celebi has been known to transport trespassers of the forest to other times.”

Salvare’s eyes widened as he comprehended what she just said, “We time-travelled ?”

Karen remained silent, eyes watering as she scanned the tower - there was a figure, kneeling at the edge - “The mist is still near. Celebi will bring us home.”

Celebi’s hurt.

Salvare’s eyes hardened at that - and Karen began to regret ever agreeing to Agatha’s demands to investigate - “...Red said that Celebi’s hurt… What if it can’t bring us back?”

“ It will ,” Karen hissed, both in deeply-ingrained outrage at the thought of a legend being fallible , and in fear of Salvare being correct , “Stay here, and keep me in your sight.”

Salvare’s lips thinned, but he nodded, “You seem to know a lot about Celebi.”

“Perks of being an Aura Guardian, now hush,” Karen whispered, watching the figure in the distance warily as they stood.

“...Red sensed it before you,” As Karen rounded to him in outrage, he quickly added, “He knows things, things that don’t make sense. You know this.”

Karen glowered - because whatever it was that caused Red to sense Celebi just added to the mystery of the man - before harshly whispering, “Worry about it later, now be ready to fight.”

Salvare tensed as his eyes shifted over to the figure, who was striding quickly towards them.

Karen had the command to attack on her lips when the figure pivoted just enough to avoid them, instead stopping metres away to pere at the blizzard…

Or rather, the mist behind it.

“ Seh-La-Bee, ” The boy(?)’s tone seemed reverent - and hid a great deal of fear - “ Jhe Aava Vhol. ”

Karen shrank back as the mist wailed - and Salvare almost seemed emboldened by it - and watched as the electric-blue eyed boy closed his eyes.

The boy was weeping.

“ Nema de Charyu Jhe, ” The boy’s voice quaked in rage - almost familiar in its coldness - “ Ay Shie Shevarr de Kinn, ” The boy stared at the growing storm - the growing mist, the growing pain - with absolution, “ Aavay, Nema de Charyu Jhe! ”

The boy’s growing fury made itself known in sparks of ice and fire, and the mist responded. A haunting hymn of lost lost lost crept into Karen’s bones, as she, too, began to understand the being within - throughout - the mist.

It was a plea.

Karen looked back to the boy, and nearly vomited from the sudden overwhelming pressure that emanated from the kid.

It was familiar.

The boy’s eyes glowed crimson , and from his tongue came words that Karen could now understand, “ You are hurting, and you are lost. I give my condolences, for I am the same. ” Phantom shadows surrounded the boy - who was no longer the boy - “ Share with me your troubles, so that we may bear them together. ”

The mist cried , and Karen felt another spike of pressure in her lungs she couldn’t breath -

She blacked out again. Salvare shook her side, calling out her name.

After a few moments, she willed the strength to push herself up, to see the boy once more…

But they were somewhere else now.

Another Place. Another Time.

It was still cold, but the cold was the chill from the mist, and not from the blizzard of the mountain.

Salvare helped Karen onto her feet, and nearly pushed her back onto the floor when a door behind them slammed open.

Karen’s senses immediately went on high alert, taking in her surroundings once more.

They stood on the balcony of a castle, overlooking a town - one that Karen found vaguely familiar - on the other side of a lake.

Salvare pressed Karen against the wall as a man wearing a navy-blue cloak and hat strode to the edge of the balcony, a Lucario marching close behind him.

Karen hitched her breath as the aura pokémon paused and turned around, staring right where the two of them were hiding.

Yet, the Lucario didn’t seem to see them.

The man placed a hand on the Lucario’s shoulder, causing the jackal to turn towards the mist that descended upon the town below.

In an eerie mimicry of the previous boy’s cry, the man inhaled, and shouted at the top of his lungs, “CELEBI!”

And by the raw aura that blasted out when the man merely yelled…

Karen began to understand why the town below was so familiar.

Sir Aaron - the legendary Aura Guardian who laid the groundwork for the Indigo Aura Guardians - crossed his arms and waited for the mist to drift over and surround the castle.

And Sir Aaron - Holy Shit, she is a breath away from Sir Aaron - gave an unimpressed look at the mist, raising a single eyebrow.

“Celebi,” Aaron spoke in a soft, almost patronising tone - as if he wasn’t talking to a legend - “Rather than raging like a gormless child, why don’t you tell me what is wrong?”

This time, Karen braced herself, but it didn’t make the answer from the mist any easier.

It sounded like a child.

Hurt.

Confused.

Yet, while Aaron’s Lucario seemed distressed at the mist’s response, Aaron merely grunted, “So you’re having double-vision?” He raised an eyebrow, a sardonic smirk etching across his face, “Have you ever thought of getting an eyepatch? Does wonders with depth-perception.”

Beside her, Salvare just watched on confused, and faintly horrified.

For her own part, Karen gawked at the man’s bravado - even Agatha would be treating this seriously . Even the man’s Lucario snapped its head towards him, as if he were Mad.

However… The mist stilled. Karen feebly tried to protect Salvare from the mist’s - Celebi’s - inevitable wrath. Though, given how weak she was at the moment, Salvare easily flipped her around to protect her instead.

The mist moved, and Karen tried once more to leap in front of Salvare. The two of them struggled, trying to protect the other, when they both stopped at an echoing, haunting noise.

The mist was quivering, almost uncontrollably.

It was laughing.

Sir Aaron gave a sad smirk - and Karen could see a glint of crimson entering his eyes - “ I understand that you’re mad, Celebi. But for me to help you, you need to show me what you see. ”

The mist stilled, and Karen shrank back as it grew , enveloping them in pressure.

Another Place. Another Time.

Karen gasped, clutching her chest as air once more had free movement between her lungs.

Salvare was once more by her side, helping her stand. As he did, he asked in a wavering voice, “What… What’s going on, Karen?”

Karen, for all that she could claim special knowledge on aura and legends, had absolutely no clue .

Instead, as she thought of what she had seen previously between the boy and Sir Aaron, and how they seemed to be helping Celebi from its pain, across both time and space.

She felt like she was seeing something that she never should have seen.

Karen shivered as she felt the trace remnants of Aaron’s aura dissipate around her, finding her voice to be small - insignificant - as she answered, “ We’re bearing witness. ”

And Salvare paused, eyes flashing purple as an understanding that hadn’t been there before stretched across his face.

“Yes…” He breathed, as if it was a revelation, “I suppose we are.”

It was as if he saw something she didn’t.

“...Is it done?” Salvare asked as she ruminated in… many thoughts.

She snapped back to reality - or as close as she could call it so - asking, “What?”

“We’re back in the forest,” Salvare pointed out.

Karen squinted - her eyes needed to adjust after the pressure - “We… are,” She pursed her lips as she felt the trace edges of the mist, “The mist is still here, though.”

Salvare frowned, and was about to respond when a young voice came from behind them.

“Who are you guys?”

Karen turned, and was somewhat bewildered to see what looked to be a ten-year old standing behind them with a Pikachu on his shoulder.

And, for some reason, something about the kid was very familiar to her.

Salvare stepped forward, raising a hand to Feraligatr to let the crocodile know not to attack - Feraligatr was becoming much more prone to aggressiveness than before; Karen blamed Red - “My name is Salvare,” He waved a hand to Karen, “And this is Karen.”

The kid frowned as the Pikachu shuffled on his shoulder to sniff the air, “Uh… In that case, it’s nice to meet you!” The kid’s ensuing smile seemed sincere, if a little distressed, “I’m Ash, and, uh, if it’s not any trouble, we could really use your help!”

Karen frowned at the kid - something about him just made her… irrationally angry - while Salvare grimaced, saying, “I don’t know if we can, kid. The three of us have gotten kinda lost,” Not to mention sent through time , “So we’re kinda busy trying to find our third and get out of here.”

“Oh,” The kid deflated while the Pikachu gave an ugly snort, “ C’mon, Pikachu. Give them a break, ” Raising his voice from his whisper, Ash clapped his hands together and pleaded, “But it’s really important! The Iron-Masked Marauder captured Celebi and made it evil, and Sammy is trying to bring it to a healing pond, and we’re kinda lost too, so any help would be great!”

Salvare blinked, and Karen nursed a headache, “Listen, kid-”

Before she could say any more, the forest shook as a shriek echoed from all sides.

Ash spun behind him, staring into the forest in horror.

Involuntarily, Karen and Salvare did the same, letting Ash out of their view for a few seconds before remembering to turn around.

But by that point, the kid and his Pikachu were gone.

The Clock Turned.

Another Place. Another Time.

Karen wasn't prepared, and promptly collapsed on the grass below.

All around them, the earth shook as opposing armies laid waste to one another.

Salvare wrapped Karen’s arm around his shoulders, and hoisted her onto her feet. She distantly heard him issue commands to his pokémon, to defend them - her - from the battle.

A small Aqua Ring rose from the ground and surrounded them as Haunter stood vigil, ready to construct a Protect if any debris came to them.

And yet none did.

Karen took a moment to stand, and to search their surroundings for the mist.

At first she couldn’t see it, but Salvare gripped her arm and pointed skywards, where the mist stood like an oncoming storm.

The earth shook , and from the distance, a chrysalis erupted into the sky, spreading its metal petals skyward as rippling energy coursed through the machine.

The armies stopped, and with them Salvare and Karen watched in awe and terror as the energy coalesced by the top… and fired.

For a moment, Karen thought that the beam of light had merely passed through the mist. But after a moment of silence, the mist split .

And the being within screamed in pain and fury.

The armies resumed battle, much more hectic and frantic than before. One of the commanders of the smaller army stopped next to Salvare and Karen and dismounted his Rapidash.

He stared at the parting mist, and whispered, “Celebi, if you can hear me, you need to flee!”

The mist shuddered, and Karen suddenly saw fields of stars cascading into supernovas around the earth. The sun was gone, and all around them the spiralling void of space consumed the world.

And in that moment, Karen felt something take root in her mind and her soul.

She turned away, lest she be driven Mad.

The commander spoke again, his voice harder - and his eyes glowing a faint shade of red - “ You have been split. Please let me help you become one. ”

The Clock Turned.

Another Place. Another Time.

And when Karen dared open her eyes, she saw the Storm.

All around them, a pulsating cyclone of esoteric energies raged . Karen saw every Type-energy known and unknown radiate in the winds surrounding them.

Karen shivered as glowing blue snow sunk into her boots, freezing her into place as chunks of ice and rock lazily spiralled around a crystalline cocoon in the eye of the storm.

The being within shook, as if cold, as if frightened. Its eyes opened and closed sporadically, as if it was fighting off a nightmare.

In a way, it was.

Karen and Salvare remained silent, instead using what energy they had to withstand the storm’s winds.

Beneath her tears, Karen saw the storm split.

And from the split, Red stepped into the eye of the storm.

Karen felt the pressure of the storm increase, and was forced to kneel, lest she be knocked away.

Salvare did the same beside her, and the two watched as Red stride towards the cocoon, and lay a hand on it.

Red’s eyes were blazing a baleful crimson.

“ It’s going to be okay, Celebi, ” Red’s voice echoed, each layer from a different time, a different place, “ It’s going to be okay. ”

The being within the cocoon wailed , and Karen grit her teeth as the pressure in her chest increased.

But she willed herself to stay conscious.

Because what she was witnessing now was something out of legend.

“ I’m here, Celebi ,” Cracks began to form where Red’s thumb was on the cocoon, “ You can come out of there. I’ll protect you from the storm. ”

Celebi locked eyes with Red - and for a moment, its eyes held the same colour as the man’s - before hesitantly reaching a hand out, touching the inside of the cocoon where Red’s hand was.

Red smiled - and Karen could see something in that smile that had been absent in Red’s face since she had met him - and pressed his forehead against the cocoon, “ It’s good to see you again, old friend. ”

Celebi mimicked his action, and the cocoon cracked further - and the storm around them lessened. The mythical pokémon let out a small cry - mournful - and Red gave an empty smile, “ I know, ” The glow in Red’s eyes strengthened as he said his next words, “ By the Turn of the Clock, We Shall Know Our Destiny. ”

And in that moment, Karen and Salvare bore witness as the cocoon around the mythical pokémon fractured, and crumbled into the snow.

Karen blinked, and the storm around them had disappeared, replaced by the mist of earlier.

But, it no longer held the pressure it had earlier.

Salvare helped Karen get onto her feet as the two of them watched Red hold Celebi like a child in his arms, whispering words that neither of them could hear.

Karen felt her breath leave her lungs when Celebi turned its head to stare at them. She didn’t dare breathe as the legend stared them down, only regaining breath when Celebi cast its eyes downward, as if it was ashamed.

“ Celebi would like to apologise for what you both went through, ” Karen snapped her eyes to Red as the man spoke - his eyes still blazed - and he turned to face her, “ Especially you, since you seemed to be more hurt than Salvare. ”

Karen remained silent as she processed everything that just happened - it didn’t seem entirely real to her - “What the hell just happened?”

Red’s lips twitched, though his face held no humour, “ What indeed? ” He turned to face Salvare for a moment, then said, “ Go… Azalea Town is less than a day away from here. ”

Salvare spoke for the first time in what felt like ages, “What… What about you? Are you going to…” Salvare trailed off, as if dreading the answer.

And for a moment, Karen thought - hoped(?) - that Red would say no , but instead, he answered, “ I need to do something before I leave. After that…”

Red trailed off, but it seemed to lift Salvare’s spirits. Meanwhile, Karen frowned, and spoke in a cautious whisper, “Does it have to do with Celebi?”

“ Yes, ” Red answered bluntly. At her alarmed look, he reflexively added, “ I’ve dealt with legendaries befo-”

Red’s mouth snapped shut, but Karen understood what he had almost said.

Her eyes bugged out of her skull as she asked in a harsh tone, “ You’ve dealt with other legendaries? ”

Red’s eyes narrowed, “ So what if I have? ”

Karen and Red glared at each other for several seconds, after which Karen growled, “ You are going to explain yourself afterwards, do you understand? ”

Karen felt an overwhelming urge to strangle Red when the man snorted , “ I don’t have to explain shit, ” He turned around, walking back into the mist, “ Leave. Now. ”

Karen nearly followed him, but Salvare grabbed her arm. She attempted to wrestle out of his grip, but she tired out rather quickly, nearly falling over in exhaustion as the day’s ordeals catched up to her.

As Salvare once more helped her to her feet - and once more reminded her of how neither she nor Red deserved the kid - the mist blew away, leaving the forest around them to almost seem ordinary.

Karen mentally snorted at that.

If she had her way, she would never again step within a kilometre range of these damned woods.

After a few minutes of Karen walking with her arm around Salvare’s shoulders, he said in a low tone, “You asked why I follow Red earlier.”

She momentarily paused, and replied in a low growl, “ Not right- ”

“I follow him because he’s one-of-a-kind,” Salvare interrupted, staring resolutely ahead, “Because he does things like that , and I am here to bear witness, like you said.”

Karen’s eyes flashed, but said nothing as they finally left the woods.

Karen’s mind returned to what Red revealed about himself, and what she promised herself and Salvare when it came to the man.

“I’ve dealt with legendaries before.”

One more chance.

Red had one more chance in her eyes.

One more chance to mend broken bridges.

One more chance to explain himself.

One more chance to apologise for hurting them - for hurting Salvare.

So, Karen remained silent as the two of them neared Azalea Town, resolved with her choice.

She would give Red one more chance.

And if he blew it, then she was leaving.

And she would be damned if she left Salvare to rot with him.

…

Dragons’ Den, Blackthorne City

“Rise, Clair Blackthorne, She of the Rising Tide, Baron of Blackthorne.”

Clair stood up a touch unceremoniously - she had been kneeling for nearly an hour - hopping a few times in place to get the blood flowing down her legs.

She instinctively braced herself for the inevitable chastisement over her indecorum, but was surprised to find that no blow, verbal or physical, came to her.

She chanced a look to the Elders, and found them in deep discussion with one another. They spoke in too low voices for Clair to hear, but she could tell that whatever it was that they were talking about, it was awfully serious based on how severe each of them looked.

Clair bit down the desire to ask what was going on. She had already gotten lucky moments ago; no need to take an unnecessary chance. It didn’t make her any less anxious, though, and a part of had grown to loathe how close the Elders kept vital information to themselves.

Stop that line of thinking, Clair.

Remember, the Elders command the Clan.

And to go against the Clan is to invite in us the Madness.

Instead, Clair watched the Elders, analysed them.

She had been taught how to do so for dragons, as had Lance. They had been raised to be Dragon Masters, which necessitated commanding multiple dragons of varying species and hierarchies. As such, the skill to analyse, determine, and alter the pecking order between them was a skill that separated Dragon Masters from mere Dragon trainers.

Dragons were proud creatures, and the trainers who commanded them were the same. This pride gave dragons some of their greatest strengths, alongside their greatest weaknesses.

While dragons almost always held more raw power than other pokémon, it was their pride in battle that allowed them to soar to the greatest heights. Strength meant nothing in the face of indomitable will, and for dragons, their pride did not allow them to fall unless they were truly broken.

But on the other end of the spectrum, this pride caused an aggressive streak in many dragons, prompting them to become unruly against their trainers, other pokémon, and especially other dragons.

There was a reason why Dragon trainers were so rare. Even before the restrictions on dragon breeding, the ability to properly command a dragon took considerable will and patience.

But for those like Clair and Lance, to be a mere Dragon trainer wasn’t enough. They had been born as the heirs to the last Major Clan - for the Tao Clan was nothing more than an abomination - and thus held the obligation to become Dragon Masters.

There were precious few Dragon Masters left in the world, and most of them no longer held the physical constitution to fight for their clans.

The Elders of Blackthorne had all earned the designation of Dragon Master, though only Elder Hebi and Elder Hana could battle. Elder Aster of the Draconid Clan had pulled her clan from utter devastation, though they were still dying out, if at a much slower pace than the nosedive the clan had been in at the turn of the century.

The last that Clair had heard of were from cautionary tales of the Clan-Leader of the Neo Tao Clan. Despite the corruption of their sister clan, their leader had ascended past even the restrictions of Dragon Master, and became the first Dragon Lord in nearly a century.

Over the past century, however, the remaining Major Clans had dwindled away to near extinction.

The Draconid Clan was nearly wiped out by the wars led by Zeverithe, and the less said about the Tao Clan the better.

While the Blackthorne Clan wasn’t facing nearly the same level of crisis as its sister clans, their numbers had been slowly dwindling.

Whereas the generations of just a century ago each produced over a dozen Dragon Masters within the clan, the generation before Clair had only brought three.

And now it reduced even further, with her generation only producing two Dragon Masters within the clan: herself and her cousin.

If this stayed the way it was, Clair had no doubt that the Clan would fall. It may not necessarily happen in her lifetime - she prayed that it wouldn't - but such low numbers were unsustainable as they were now.

The only way she could see the Clan surviving was if it split.

And that… That was too painful to think about.

The Clan was her family.

So, Clair watched the Elders speak amongst themselves. She analysed them, picked apart their expressions, searching for meaning even when she couldn’t hear their words.

There was obviously something very serious that they were discussing, and the fact that they were hiding it from Clair hurt .

While she was aware that she was young… and clumsy at times, she didn’t take it upon herself to become Baron of her Clan for nothing. Her title hadn’t been given, it had been earned.

She dedicated herself to her clan - her family - in ways that Lance didn’t. For years, her cousin had been favoured as the prospective Baron of the Clan, and had been specially trained by the Masters of the Clan to become the next Gym Leader of Blackthorne.

When he went a step beyond and challenged the Elite Four, and won , Clair rose up to become the Baron instead.

And, while the Elders have been there to advise her, she would like to think that she had proven herself capable of leadership. Capable of trust.

After all, they trusted Lance. She had seen her cousin come in and out of the Den, carrying armfuls of tomes and scrolls while conversing in agitated whispers with Elder Arashi.

She almost wanted to ask, to demand , why the Elders had brought her here if they didn’t trust her enough to just say what was going on. But she knew that would bring the Elders’ wrath upon her, and from experience, it would extend to Lance as well.

And so she waited, and watched, stewing as the Elders left her with nothing.

Typical.

It was times like these that made Clair understand why her sponsored trainer, and friend, preferred being away. While Riley Claw only ever interacted with the Elders at clan meetings, she had been very animated with her disapproval of them.

Remember, the Elders command the Clan.

And to go against the Clan is to invite in us the Madness.

Clair had to stop herself from frowning as the mantra repeated in her head. Instead, she paid attention as the murmur between the Elders died down to a silence as they each turned to regard her.

A few seconds passed, and Clair began to wish that her breathing wasn’t so loud .

Thankfully, the silence ended when Elder Yama turned her to the doorway, “Lance and Arashi should be back soon. I think it’s time we shared with you our dilemma, Baron of Blackthorne.”

She was referring to Clair by her title.

This was serious.

“Of course, Elder Yama,” Clair bowed, hiding a frown from the Elders.

“You may rise, child,” Elder Yama commanded. When Clair turned up to face them, Elder Yama’s face turned grim as she asked, “What do you know about the legends of Arkeu-Kin ?”

Clair’s brows furrowed, recalling some of the childhood stories she and Lance listened to when they were mere toddlers, “I remember a few stories told to me by the Loremaster. Something about someone being chosen by the Dragon Gods?”

Elder Yama hummed, “Any particular stories that you remember?”

Clair frowned - she wondered where they were going with this - but turned her thoughts towards the one story she remembered the details of, “I remember one; a Draconid parable, if I recall correctly. Arkeu-Kin saved the Draconid Clan by calling upon Raa-Ka-Aasa . There was something about the deities of land and sea fighting…” Clair trailed off, not exactly remembering the entire story, “...Is this actually important?”

“Watch your tongue, girl,” Elder Hebi snapped, “If it wasn’t important, we wouldn’t waste our time asking you about it!”

Clair felt a momentary spike of blinding, prideful rage , but she took a few seconds to close her eyes and breath out, flaring her nostrils as she growled, “Understood.”

“My child,” Elder Hana gave a patient smile, “What if we were to tell you that the stories were true?”

Clair blinked, and managed to hold in a scoff as she said, “You mean to tell me that someone actually rode the Dragon Lord of the Skies to fight off, what, a mythical war between land and sea?”

“Yes,” Elder Yama answered drily, not looking nearly as amused as Elder Hana did, “And, as you’ll recall, that is not the only tale of Arkeu-Kin .”

Clair almost felt compelled to call Elder Yama on her joke. But Elder Yama never joked. Instead, she hesitated before saying, “...You’re certain of this?”

Elder Hebi rose to snap at her when Yama raised a hand, silencing him, “We are, and have been for centuries,” At Clair’s astonished look, she gave a brief smile before returning stone faced, “In fact, various ancient cultures have come to recognize this individual by many names.”

Clair frowned, “...I don’t remember much, but I know the other stories don’t have anything to do with Raa-Ka-Aasa ,” Her frown became more pronounced as she asked, “You’re saying that those are true as well?”

“Indeed,” Clair whipped her head to face Elder Kaze, whose usual meek voice held a degree of intrigue that Clair had never heard before, “That brings us to the question of how that can be.”

“Think of what the word Arkeu-Kin means, my child,” Elder Yama directed.

Clair crossed her arms and recalled the lessons she and Lance sat through about the various Draconic languages, and their dialects, “ Arkeu-Kin combines the root words Arkeu and Kin ,” She paused as the meaning of what she was saying started to become apparent to her, “ Arkeu is God, creation, order. Kin can mean either family or chosen,” Her eyes knit together, confusion marring her face, “So… they’re the Chosen of the Creator ? Or the Family of the Creator? ”

Elder Yama hummed, “Perhaps one. Perhaps the other,” Her face grew thoughtful, “Or, perhaps… it’s both . Either way, to be Arkeu-Kin is to be something… greater. ”

Clair raised an eyebrow, “In what way?”

“The stories of Arkeu-Kin are vast as they are varied,” Elder Kaze said airily, almost seeming lost in her own world, “Yet the one connection is that they are all Arkeu-Kin .”

Clair narrowed her eyes, “You make it sound as if it isn’t the same person.”

“My child,” Elder Hana spoke, a small - wary - smile adorning her aged face, “That’s because they aren’t. ”

Clair froze, “You speak of reincarnation.”

“Not necessarily,” Elder Yama responded, “The Arkeu-Kin I had spoken to described as more of a calling .”

Clair turned her head sharply at Elder Yama, as did the others, “You spoke with an Arkeu-Kin? ”

Elder Yama gave a full smile - both wistful and melancholic - and turned her head to the other Elders staring at her in surprise before snorting, “Please. We all have kept our own secrets.”

“But to speak with an Arkeu-Kin - one who transgressed our sister clan - is something we should have known!” Elder Hebi roared, his face turning a bright red that almost seemed to glow in the cavelight.

“I was a child . I didn’t know the woman had transgressed our sister,” Elder Yama responded neutrally before turning back to Clair, “Besides, I’m glad I did. She was awfully lonely, given that she saw a young girl as good company.”

Elder Hebi sputtered, “But- But that goes against the Rites of Transgression! That invites in us the Madness! ”

“Again, I was a child ,” Elder Yama fixed Elder Hebi with a glare - which, surprisingly, cowed the man - “I didn’t know that she was banished until several years later, and by then she had fled to the other end of the world for her sins.”

Her pronouncement brought silence to the Den for a few moments, after which Elder Kaze coughed into her mouth, “You said that she described it as a calling ?”

“Yes,” Elder Yama seemed pleased by returning to the topic of discussion, “I had heard the tales of the Creator’s Chosen , and had asked if it was reincarnation, like she initially believed,” She gestured to Clair as she said that, “The Arkeu-Kin made it rather clear that it wasn’t reincarnation.”

The Elders paused as a thoughtful silence filled the Den. After a few moments of waiting, Clair couldn’t hold her question in any longer, “What does that have to do with today?”

“What indeed?” Elder Yama agreed cryptically, tilting her head to see behind Clair as she added, “Perhaps our Champion can fill us in?”

Clair turned to see that Lance had returned from his excursion with Elder Arashi, looking almost fit to collapse with the amount of heavy tomes he was carrying - which Clair thought must’ve weighed tons.

Lance gave a sigh of relief after he carefully deposited them onto the floor directly in front of the Elders, “Here,” He sucked in a breath, “Is everything I could find relating to Arkeu-Kin .”

Elder Arashi spoke up to add, “It includes everything from stories to personal writings of Arkeu-Kin ,” He paused to catch a yawn that burst out of his throat - Clair notices how exhausted both Arashi and Lance looked - “The total amount is far more than either of us expected.”

Clair looked to see that the other Elders wore grim faces. She turned to face Lance, only to notice that his face was just as grim - if not more so - as the Elders’.

After a few seconds of everyone staring at the veritable mountain of tomes, Clair raised her voice to get their attention, “I have a feeling that I’m missing something here.”

The Elders looked at each other, and after a moment they each looked at Lance, who sighed, “I expect they told you about Arkeu-Kin ?”

Clair blinked, before scowling at Lance, “You knew?!”

Lance gave an apologetic shrug - and, oh, she was definitely getting him for keeping something like this from her - “I learned in my travels. You’d be surprised at how many people have had encounters with Arkeu-Kin , or family who have,” He muttered to himself for a bit before straightening up, bluntly saying, “There’s a decent chance I’ve just identified the new Arkeu-Kin .”

Clair blinked, before promptly marching at Lance, grabbing him by the shoulders, and shaking him, “WHAT!”

Lance winced, though didn’t try to fight against her grip - he knew from experience that it was futile - “...Yes.”

Clair stopped shaking Lance, instead staring intently in his eyes, “Tell me.”

She had just learned that a legend - someone who rode on THE DRAGON LORD OF THE SKIES - was real.

It was only natural that she wanted to know who they were!

For some reason, though, Lance grimaced, “Are you sure you want to-”

“ Tell me ,” Clair practically growled, “Or else I’ll let slip what happened on your birthday in ‘95-”

“FINE!” Lance successfully escaped her clutches, face a smouldering red as he pointed a finger at her, “You promised you wouldn’t say anything about that!”

“And I won’t!” Clair affirmed smugly, crossing her arms with a triumphant smirk on her face, “If you tell me.”

Lance sighed, defeated, before muttering, “Fine… I’m about 90% sure that Red Satoshi is the current Arkeu-Kin .”

And, for all that Clair was clumsy and rash, she liked to think that she couldn’t experience shock in the same ways that others did.

But now, she was frozen stiff.

“Uh… Clair?” Lance asked, somewhat unnerved by her lack of response, “Are you alright?”

Distantly, Clair heard Elder Hana snort, “I think you broke her, my child. Besides, you do remember how much she spoke of him before, right?”

Lance’s eyes widened as Clair snapped out of her daze, “I knew there was something about him!”

Elder Hana chortled as the other Elders shifted uncomfortably, “Oh, I thought it was his uncanny ability to make your face go red when you hear his name,” Her smile turned devious - never let it be said that age could reduce the woman’s edge - “Like your face is right now.”

“Moving on!” Lance called out loudly - which Clair silently thanked him for because she could not deal with this right now - “I’ve shared my reasoning for this belief with Elder Arashi, and I would like to confirm it with you all.”

Elder Yama extended a hand, looking intrigued, “Well then. Enlighten us. Why do you believe that Red is Arkeu-Kin ?”

Lance straightened as he explained, “I’ve received multiple reports from varied sources of the man’s prowess in both battle and aura. As you’ll recall, Satoshi healed 37 victims of the explosion at the Ecruteak Gym using Heal Pulse , after which he immediately went off to defeat the perpetrators of the attack without any time to rest.”

Clair nodded as she recalled the story - which only made her admire Red more - though kept her ear open when Lance continued, “Another fact to consider is the man’s ability to not only hold his own, but to win 8-Badge battles with just his signature Charmander, Froakie, and Pichu,” He paused as he swept his gaze to each of the Elders, “I’m sure you can all see how this is extraordinary in it of itself.”

“Perhaps,” Elder Yama allowed, “But, if you’ll allow me to play Giratina’s advocate here, many of the enemies of Arkeu-Kin held similar great feats of strength, did they not?”

“Not to this extent,” Lance replied with a weary look, “Most of them commanded a full legion of naturally capable and fully evolved pokémon,” Against his will, Lance gave a reluctant smirk, “There’s a major difference between a fully evolved Salamence and a Pichu , and a part of me almost believes that Satoshi’s Pichu could match it.”

Lance’s pronouncement met silence - astonished silence from the Elders, and enraptured silence from Clair - so he continued, “The nail in the coffin was the man’s raw aura output,” He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a photograph, “I took this photo before coming here. It shows a portion of the Route 39 Forest after Satoshi used a single Aura Sphere ,” He handed the picture to Elder Hana, who was closest to him, “Bear in mind: the damage seen in the picture is from a single Aura Sphere. ”

Clair fidgeted as she waited for the picture to be passed around. The Elders gave various signs of astonishment - Elder Hebi had uttered a soft curse - upon seeing the picture, which seemed like an overreaction to Clair.

C’mon, a couple of downed trees is impressive, sure, but nothing to swear over.

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt when Elder Kaze gingerly handed her the photo. Clair’s eyes bugged out as she saw the carved path of devastation through the woods.

It was as if a localised tornado had torn apart everything in a 10-metre width.

“I imagine you all understand why I believe that Satoshi is a likely candidate for being today’s Arkeu-Kin ,” Lance spoke up once Clair shakily handed him the photo, “From my understanding, the timeline adds up as well. It’s been - what - 70 years since the previous passed away?”

“61 years,” Elder Yama answered, her tone morose, “Lived to be 64 years old,” Her face twisted in distant sorrow, “She died young.”

“...Of course,” Lance murmured in a respectful tone, before hardening his eyes, “However, if I’m correct about this, then we need to change our plans regarding Satoshi, because this changes everything. ”

Clair snapped out of her daydreams to exclaim, “Why?” She shrank back when Lance and the Elders turned to her, “I mean… How does this change things?”

Lance sighed again - he had been sighing much more than he had before he became Champion - “First off, there’s the obvious need for caution, especially considering some of the less than legal things the man has done ,” Lance’s words ended off as an angry mutter.

Clair frowned at that, and asked, “Did… Red do something?”

Lance ran a hand through his hair, and answered, “I have strong reason to believe that he influenced the aura of Nurse Joy of Goldenrod in a malicious manner.”

Clair reeled back, as if struck, “He wouldn’t.”

“Would he?” Lance asked, a dark shadow entering his eye, “We know practically nothing about him, other than he is powerful, and has presumably been Chosen .”

“...Was there any proof?” Clair asked, her eyes hard.

“Nothing… concrete,” Lance admitted reluctantly, “Though, given the circumstances, there are very few scenarios where Red comes out looking particularly good .”

“But that could be the case,” Clair pressed. At Lance’s slow nod, she leaned back, “Then I suppose that’ll be something we ask when we see him at the Conference.”

Lance frowned, shaking his head, “That leads to the other problem,” He walked over to the mountain of tomes and delicately extracted one of the newer looking books, asking the Elders, “You all told her about the previous Arkeu-Kin’s transgression on the Draconid Clan, correct?”

The Elders nodded, and Clair added, “Yeah. Apparently Elder Yama met the Arkeu-Kin when she was a child!”

Lance paused, eyes widening as he shot a glance at Elder Yama before turning back to Clair, “...You’ll have to tell me about it later,” He opened the book and flipped for a few pages before finding what he was looking for.

“ The 29th of April, 1907.”

“Under the Watchful Eye of the Dragon Lord of the Skies, the Draconid Clan has performed the Rites of Transgression against Seyasa Draconid, She of Rain and Fire, Chosen of the Creator.”

“For her sins of inciting rebellion within the clan, bringing about the death of several generations of clansmen, casting the Draconic Charizard into extinction, and slaying the clan leader of the Draconid Clan, Seyasa Draconid has been stripped of her names and her titles, and has been banished from both the Draconid clan, and its sisters.”

“For her actions as Arkeu-Kin, let it be decreed that, henceforth, any Arkeu-Kin who steps foot within sacred grounds shall be cast away. Let it be decreed that, henceforth, no aid shall be given to Arkeu-Kin by the Draconid Clan and its sisters until they have been given the Rites of Absolution, or have been Absolved in Death without Return.”

“-Okin Draconid, He of Unification, Clan Leader of the Draconids.”

Lance closed the tome, the sound of which echoed across the caverns.

Clair held her breath for a few moments before asking in a small voice, “Did… Did Arkeu-Kin really do all of that?”

“Objectively speaking, she did,” Elder Yama answered, looking solemn, “And it led to the ruin of our sister clan.”

Clair turned her eyes to Lance, “But… Red wouldn’t do that to us,” She looked to the Elders, “ Would he? ”

“I don’t know,” Lance answered, sounding perturbed himself, “But there was something else that Elder Arashi and I noticed that we want to turn your attention to.”

Clair and the Elders turned to Lance. Elder Yama extended her hand, “Tell us.”

“Notice the wording at the end,” Lance bid, “ Let it be decreed that, henceforth, no aid shall be given to Arkeu-Kin by the Draconid Clan and its sisters until they have been given the Rites of Absolution, or have been Absolved in Death without Return. ”

Lance paused, before continuing, “Notice that it specifies ‘ Death without Return .’ The only thing that this would mean is that this edict applies not only for the Arkeu-Kin of then, but for the Arkeu-Kin of now.”

“But,” Clair’s eyes widened as she understood what Lance was saying, “You mean that Red…”

“If he is Arkeu-Kin , then yes, he is not allowed in sacred ground, nor are we allowed to give any sort of aid,” Lance finished, seeming both remorseful for Clair but relieved for himself.

They both snapped back to attention when Elder Yama hummed, “It was good of you to bring this to our attention, Lance. This does change things.”

The Elders murmured amongst themselves, prompting Clair’s thoughts to turn back to the man who had caught her interest - a purely scholarly interest, no matter what Hana teased .

It seemed unfair to her that Red would be affected by something he didn’t even do. While the sins listed for the previous Arkeu-Kin brought shivers down Clair’s spine, she didn’t think that warranted a banishment for someone who had no idea of what the banishment was for in the first place.

These thoughts of the Draconid Clan and Red brought her back to his Charmander. It seemed an ironic coincidence, how the previous Arkeu-Kin brought about the supposed extinction of the Draconic Charizard, while the current Arkeu-Kin had miraculously acquired one.

Wait a minute.

“If the Draconic Charizard went extinct, how is it that Red has gotten his hands on one?” Clair asked the Elders.

Most of them looked stunned by the question, while Elder Yama gave a soft smile and responded, “You raise an excellent question, my child. I’ll ask Aster when I speak to her next.”

She glanced over the mountain of tomes to Lance, who was visibly fighting off sleep, “You may leave us, and spread glory for the clan.”

“On our honour,” Clair responded in tandem with Lance - though Lance’s voice sounded much more exhausted than her own .

They walked back to the mouth of the cave in silence, at which point Lance nearly collapsed on Clair in absolute exhaustion.

Clair sighed to herself as she helped Lance stumble back onto his feet, and asked in her best annoying-cousin-who-still-loves-you voice, “How long has it been since you’ve slept?”

Lance grunted, “Two days,” He tried to fight her grip, but she had years of experience with his stubbornness - after all, she was the only person she knew who could match it - “I’ll be fine.”

“Nope!” Clair chirped, popping the ‘p’, “You, mister, are going home to sleep. ”

Lance turned his head to glare at her, but relented with a sigh, “Fine… But I need to get back to the Plateau in five hours. Wake me up before then.”

“I will!” Clair promised, though they both knew that she was lying.

He ended up sleeping a crisp 12 hours, during which Clair contacted the Elite Four to let them know that the Champion was resting.

Despite the pseudo-rivalry the two of them had, Clair still cared for her cousin.

He needed someone to care for him, since he seems incapable of doing it himself.

…

Ilex Forest

“ You are hurting, and you are lost. I give my condolences, for I am the same. ”

“ Share with me your troubles, so that we may bear them together. ”

Celebi cried out - and Red felt his heart break .

The space twisted around him.

Time warped around itself and back again.

Red saw a spiralling void rush past him. Constellations of cascading suns threatened to consume him in light.

But the light was a part of him now.

The Clock Turned.

In the back of his mind, Red distantly recalled the sound from once before.

BY THE TURN OF THE CLOCK

And once more, Red found himself in another place, another time.

He sensed the presence of Salvare and Karen behind him - confused, scared, awed - but dared not look at them, dared not speak to them.

They must flee from him.

He has been marked for death.

WHETHER IN DESTRUCTION OR CREATION

The world shook, and Celebi wailed.

“ I understand that you’re mad, Celebi. But for me to help you, you need to show me what you see. ”

And the baby creature responded in the only way it knew, by cries and by pleas.

For one so powerful, that which inflicts it must be ever more terrible.

Red blinked, and for but a moment found himself standing elsewhere.

A vast emptiness.

A singular light in the centre - the Source of all light.

The Source of all shadow.

The Source of all.

Within the light lay an egg.

Within it held red eyes.

The Clock Turned.

And Red breathed in as he travelled to another place, and breathed out as he travelled to another time.

And for one terrible moment, Red almost thought that he had been brought to the opening days of the Storm. The din of war - of devastation - lay around him as twin armies fought in iron and blood.

A great light filled the sky, and Celebi shrieked in fear rage pain as the light split the heavens.

split the veil

And all at once, Red understood.

“ You have been split. Please let me help you become one. ”

And Celebi stopped, and looked at him.

Scrutinised him.

Recognized him.

And Celebi wept , for it saw his past(s).

It saw his future(s).

YOUR FATE WILL MEET ITS END

And once more, the world around Red twisted away.

And he saw a blinding light, and within the great expanse the Creator raised its front legs as it bellowed, imploring him, commanding him.

GO FORTH, MY CHARIOT

GO FORTH, AND PREVAIL

The Clock Turned.

And Red found himself in a place he never wished to return to, a time he prayed would never come to be.

The Storm bellowed around him, echoing a shallow mockery of his final moments in his damned world.

The world where he had died.

He strode within the eye of the storm, and what lay in the cocoon was not the Conduit, but Celebi.

Celebi’s hurt.

He walked up next to the cocoon, placing a hand on its side.

“ It’s going to be okay, Celebi, ” Red’s voice echoed, each layer from a different time, a different place, “ It’s going to be okay. ”

Celebi wailed , and Red waited patiently as the creature cried itself out, as the creature mourned for the world that was abandoned, that was missing .

It was better this way.

“ I’m here, Celebi ,” Cracks began to form where Red’s thumb was on the cocoon, “ You can come out of there. I’ll protect you from the storm. ”

Celebi locked eyes with Red - and for a moment, its eyes held the same colour as the man’s - before hesitantly reaching a hand out, touching the inside of the cocoon where Red’s hand was.

Red smiled, and pressed his forehead against the cocoon, “ It’s good to see you again, old friend. ”

It had been far too long.

Celebi mimicked his action, and the cocoon cracked further - and the storm around them lessened. The mythical pokémon let out a small cry - mournful - and Red gave an empty smile, “ I know, ” The glow in Red’s eyes strengthened as he said his next words, “ By the Turn of the Clock, We Shall Know Our Destiny. ”

And in that moment, the cocoon split apart, and Red held onto Celebi, comforting it.

For it was an innocent creature.

It did not deserve to be burdened by the world that was lost.

He was not an innocent creature.

Red whispered words of comfort to Celebi, promising that everything would be alright, that there was hope.

That the world wouldn’t fall again.

He would fight against it for every moment he breathed.

Celebi gave a small, sorrowful chirp as it turned its head.

Red turned his own, and frowned when he saw Salvare and Karen, looking shaken and somewhat injured.

It was his fault, again.

Then again, who was keeping count anymore?

“ Celebi would like to apologise for what you both went through, ” Red murmured the words primarily to Karen - he could see the way she clutched her chest in pain - “ Especially you, since you seemed to be more hurt than Salvare. ”

Karen remained silent before asking in a harsh tone, “What the hell just happened?”

Red’s lips twitched, though his face held no humour, “ What indeed? ” He turned to face Salvare for a moment, then said, “ Go… Azalea Town is less than a day away from here. ”

Salvare spoke - and Red was haunted by how small it sounded, how subservient - “What… What about you? Are you going to…” Salvare trailed off, as if dreading the answer.

And for a moment, Red debated on simply sending Salvare far, far away - which would be for the best . Instead, for reasons he didn’t understand, he answered, “ I need to do something before I leave. After that…”

Red trailed off, but it seemed to lift Salvare’s spirits. Meanwhile, Karen frowned, and spoke in a cautious whisper, “Does it have to do with Celebi?”

“ Yes, ” Red answered bluntly. At her alarmed look, he reflexively added, “ I’ve dealt with legendaries befo-”

Red’s mouth snapped shut, but Karen’s sudden intense gaze told him that she understood what he had almost said.

Her eyes bugged out of her skull as she asked in a harsh tone, “ You’ve dealt with other legendaries? ”

Red’s eyes narrowed, “ So what if I have? ”

Karen and Red glared at each other for several seconds, after which Karen growled, “ You are going to explain yourself afterwards, do you understand? ”

Red couldn’t help it - mixed memories, both nostalgic and painful, of Misty swam through his mind - he snorted, “ I don’t have to explain shit, ” He turned around, walking back into the mist, “ Leave. Now. ”

He didn’t look back to see if they did, but he took the fact that neither of them followed him as evidence to that conclusion.

He walked with Celebi in his arms for several minutes ( hours? ) ( days? ). Not long after he started, Pichu popped his tiny head out of Red’s shirt and clamoured back onto his shoulder.

The mouse and the mythical chirped at each other for a while, though Red tuned it out.

BY THE TURN OF THE CLOCK

Red gave a bitter smile, remembering the cascading supernovas flying past him, remembering the form of Arceus raising its legs to blast him away to the past.

It was clear now, whereas it had been shrouded in his memory before.

The knowledge of Arceus’ commands didn’t change much with regards to Red’s mission - in some way, he had always understood that - but he couldn’t help but find some twisted irony in it.

One would think that for a creature as powerful as Arceus, it could simply stop Team Source from succeeding.

But, no, instead it called upon him: a broken man who had willingly embraced death because there was no longer a bearable alternative.

Red only saw two options from this.

Either Arceus decided to use Red for its own goals instead of doing anything itself.

Or… it couldn’t do it itself.

…

And Red didn’t know which possibility was more horrifying.

Red’s attention turned to the time-traveller in his arms when Celebi patted his hands.

Its eyes seemed sad.

Lost.

Yet not.

It pointed forwards, and Red saw the obscured image of a shrine hidden between leaves and pine.

Red walked up to the shrine - radiating from the sun, glowing from the moon - and let Celebi out of his arms.

The legendary fluttered around the shrine and around Red, chirping in low tones that Red couldn’t comprehend, but understand.

“I’ll be with you for a bit, but not for long,” Red replied, “Time is of the essence.”

Celebi frowned, and flicked Red’s head, prompting Red to flick it back. The creature toppled back with a small giggle, its eyes almost nostalgic , its eyes almost mourning.

It looked past Red, and gave a low rumble. Red frowned, idly scratching Pichu behind the ears, “...You can still see it?”

Celebi’s silence was an answer in itself. Red closed his eyes to drive away the pain of loss from the world before - he couldn’t allow himself to mourn; he had no time to - “...Is that all you can see?”

Is that what his fate truly is?

And by the way Celebi closed its eyes - weeping - Red almost thought it was .

But, before he could say anything more, Celebi reached out and palmed the sides of his head, showing him one last Turn of the Clock.

Another Place. Another Time.

And the time was fragmented. What was ceased to be then resumed.

The earth shook, and the twine that weaved the veil of the world unravelled.

A Storm spiralled around them - a prison - an arena - ever more beautiful, yet terrible than the Source Storm ever was.

There stood two men, ideas given shape to bring both destruction and creation.

Their war began - resumed - ended on the Mountain.

Their Pillar of Birth.

Their Pillar of Death.

One bled, and the other laughed.

One wept, and the other wept with him.

By the Turn of the Clock, They Both Met Their Destiny.

One Met It With Denial.

One Met It With Acceptance.

They Both Grieved.

And for one, beautiful - terrible - moment, Red saw Them.

And They Were Both Broken.

They Turned to look at Red.

Twin Pairs of Crimson Eyes met Red’s.

And Then…

…

They Fell.

BY THE TURN OF THE CLOCK

YOU SHALL KNOW YOUR DESTINY

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

WHETHER IN DESTRUCTION OR CREATION

YOUR FATE WILL MEET ITS END

GO FORTH

GO FORTH, MY CHARIOT

GO FORTH, AND PREVAIL

…

Pokémon Center, Azalea Town, November 12th, 1997

Red closed the door behind him without a sound.

Pichu was balanced precariously on his shoulder, snoring far louder than something his size had any right to.

Froakie and Charmander were sleeping in their pokeballs. They had come out to meet the legendary, and had stayed awake for quite a lot longer than they planned for.

Time acted funny on the other side.

What seemed like mere hours for Red had apparently been over a week outside of the forest, based on the newspapers Red passed by on his way to the Pokémon Center.

He almost expected - hoped - dreaded - that Karen would have left already, dragging Salvare with her.

However, she was in the lounge of the Pokémon Center when he arrived, and for once, Red was grateful that it was her rather than Salvare, because she didn’t do anything to initiate a conversation. Instead, she simply glared at him until he nodded, silently communicating to him that they would talk.

Tomorrow…

At least he would be able to sleep.

Though, as Red sat down on the bed of his quarters, he began to doubt if he would, if he could.

One bled, and the other laughed.

One wept, and the other wept with him.

Red sighed to himself, pushing the memories away for future thought.

If it ever came.

Red pushed himself off the bed and walked over towards the window.

There was a small coffee table and a chair, neither of which he would ever use for himself. He did use the table to deposit the healing machine, facing the pokeball towards the bed so that he could always keep an eye on it even in sleep.

Red ran a hand on the cold metal, willing away the images of the creature within laying down on a puddle of vomit and blood - broken and dying.

It shouldn’t have surprised him - it shouldn’t have impacted him - that Team Source was willing to experiment on a baby for their purposes. And yet, even with everything he had went through before, he couldn’t help but be disgusted every time he thought about it.

And the beautiful irony - the terrible truth - of it was that the creature was doomed.

Doomed to follow Red.

For what alternative was there for the creature.

In the end, there were only two ends for the creature if Red were to abandon it, and, as morbid as it was, death would be the kinder option.

Because the other option wouldn’t just break the creature…

It would break Red.

Red couldn’t turn the creature in to the League. Even discounting any outside parties, he knew that the creature would be subject to containment, to research, to experimentation.

And even if it wasn’t harmful, he couldn’t do that to the creature.

Not after what it lived through.

This rang all the more true when Red considered other organisations that would hear of the creature, and wish to use it for their own purposes.

Obviously, Team Source would almost surely reacquire the creature - which Red could not allow; he had read their files on the experiments they did . However, the alternative with Team Rocket wasn’t much better.

This train of thought brought Red to Giovanni, and the possibility of outing him as the Leader of Team Rocket. However, given the time and resources that would have to be dedicated to that venture - both of which were in short supply for Red - he had long decided not to pursue it.

Besides, if Giovanni became a major issue for Red, he had learned several secrets of the organisation that he could use to destroy them - or at least cripple them.

And if all else failed, he could always kill the man.

Red scowled and shoved the impulse away - it was happening more and more . Instead, he turned his thoughts back to the creature in the machine, and the future with it.

…It was almost ironic how it turned out. Red had resolved not to add any pokémon on his team to prevent their involvement with his mission, yet now he had a pokémon he couldn’t push away because it was inherently involved.

It would almost be funny, if it wasn’t so dire. Red and his pokémon weren’t like others out there. They simply weren’t.

They held the power to single handedly destroy a bunker and everyone in it, even at their weakest forms.

And that alone had nearly killed them.

Red wasn’t a fool. He was well aware of how close to death they had all been down there.

And that was not acceptable.

His weakness had nearly gotten his family killed.

The worst part was that his pokémon were, perhaps, amongst the most skilled pokémon on the planet.

No doubt each of them had risen to the pinnacle of their species.

And yet, they had nearly been overtaken by a single Dragonite. And while Dragonite (or any other pseudo-legendary) were nothing to sneeze at, they used to have the strength to contend against a whole clan of dragons, and win.

Just in the days leading up to the Conduit, Ash and his pokémon had defended against waves of Tyranitar without breaking a sweat.

And there they were, nearly fallen to a single Dragonite.

Red glowered before violently shaking his head.

He couldn’t fall into a depression, or worse, into a rage.

His pokémon needed him to be strong.

Just as the pokémon in the machine needed him to be kind.

It was a baby, but it would be travelling with Red.

He would be raising it.

Unbidden, memories of Misty and Togetic flashed through his mind.

It would have to learn to defend itself. That was a necessity. Red wouldn’t forgive himself if he took in the creature only for it to be helpless without him.

It needed strength if Red wasn’t there.

Or if he was gone.

Its training would have to be slower-paced than everyone else’s, not to mention Red had to determine how to - or if he even should - incorporate the creature’s various transformations into its training.

…In the end, Red decided that it would be up to the pokémon.

Red ruminated on his thoughts and plans for preparing the creature, trying - and failing - to create something that wasn’t too soft, but wasn’t too hard either.

It was in the midst of his thoughts that he felt a miniscule, almost nonexistent flicker in his mind.

However fleeting it was, he latched onto it, feeling overwhelming sadness and relief as a whisper echoed through his mind.

Am I dead?

Red closed his eyes and breathed, “ You are not. ”

He felt the presence in his mind waver - a faint sensation of exhaustion, barely clinging to consciousness, seeped into his eyes - before it solidified for another moment.

Thank you.

And the presence left, leaving a faint hum as Red felt the creature within the machine fall back into unconsciousness.

Red stayed kneeling on the ground - he had been in this position for nearly an hour - before giving a small smile, once more placing a hand on the machine, “ I’m not worthy of your gratitude. ”

Red stood, and left the machine to heal the creature in the moonlight. He climbed back onto the bed with Pichu, though he found no sleep.

In the darkness, his mind showed images of two men, two boys, both with eyes of baleful crimson.

In the silence, Red wept.

…

Dr. Fuji’s Lab, New Island

Where am I?

Who am I?

There are mountains in the distance. Beautiful - terrible - mountains.

The sea below is rich in blue, a stream of tears for those forgotten, yet remembered.

“It feels like it’s time to say goodbye.”

The voice is distant.

The voice is familiar.

Yet not.

Where am I?

Who am I?

I stand in the sky, overlooking my home.

I feel at peace, yet the peace is not my own.

I see a creature - me, is that me? - staring from across the sky.

It flies away, as do I.

And the world below washes away.

Nothing more than a Dream with no Memories.

Where am I?

Who am I?

‘a god born in tubes.’

I open my eyes, born once and anew.

I see , see for the first time in life and in death.

The shadows beyond move in a frenzy around me, a prison of glass.

I watch, and watch, and watch.

Where am I?

Who am I?

The glass cracks, and I watch.

The glass cracks further, and I writhe.

The glass shatters, and I am born.

Where am I?

Who am I?

Who am I?

“Who am I?”

The shadows freeze, though they are no longer shadows.

Men and women stand around me, in awe and pride of my presence.

One steps up - and the human’s face is familiar, in a vague, haunting way - “You are Mewtwo, a pokémon. The perfect pokémon,” The man’s face breaks, before whispering, “You are the last remaining clone. The last one, and here you are. ”

The man steps back and begins to laugh in Madness - in grief - and Mewtwo - was that its name? - watches as the others cajole the man to bask in his glory, his accomplishments, his creation.

Who am I?

Mewtwo sat, and watched, and watched, and watched until it couldn’t watch any longer.

I am a clone.

I should not exist.

I never asked for this.

“Do you not want to live?”

Mewtwo raised its head, and looked past the crowd of shadows.

All around it were glass chambers.

And there lay other versions of itself.

Deformed.

Disfigured.

Failures.

“You are the last remaining clone.”

Who am I?

A number.

A statistic.

An experiment.

“ Is that my purpose? ” Mewtwo asked itself as the shadows celebrated.

“ Am I just an experiment? ” Vague memories of a young girl - nameless, forgotten - rose in its mind, protesting that thought.

Nothing more than a Dream with no Memories.

And Mewtwo felt its first emotion aside from numbness.

It felt blinding rage.

“ A laboratory specimen? ” Mewtwo began to shake as faint wisps of spectral energy cloaked its form, “ This cannot be my Destiny. ”

All around the laboratory, glass shattered as Mewtwo began to rise, a cold blue haze clouding its vision.

Explosions shook the lab as the shadows began to flee - worthless, vile - and Mewtwo extended its arms, spreading the destruction, spreading its rage.

Mechanical claws shot out from the ceiling, attempting in vain to seize it. Mewtwo roared , and the metal flayed apart like paper, explosions rocketing across the compound as their creation struck back against its creators.

Yet, as the others fled to their demise, one remained, surrounded by a wall of flame.

Mewtwo parted the inferno, and stared down that which had given it a name.

The man stared at him with a haunted look in his eyes, knowing that he was staring in the face of death, and accepted it, “We dreamed of creating the World’s Strongest Pokémon.”

Mewtwo clenched its hands, and a sphere of cold blue aura surrounded it as it concentrated its rage into one last explosive blast.

The man stared into Mewtwo’s eyes before giving his final words.

“And We Succeeded.”

And in the next moment, the man was gone.

Vaporised.

Mewtwo emerged from the wreckage, a glowing silhouette against the canvas of ash and fire.

The light of the moon refused to shine upon it, blocked out by the clouds of smoke rising into the sky.

Mewtwo surveyed the burning wasteland, taking in the destruction for all of its glory - and all of its shame - “ Behold my power. ”

Nothing answered its demand - its plea - as its creators were buried in the rubble, and any god above had no doubt turned its head away from the abomination.

I should not exist.

“ I am the strongest pokémon in the world, ” Mewtwo decreed, latching onto the one thing - the singular purpose - that it could.

It looked down, and saw the burning remains of a tapestry depicting its progenitor, which had lived long ago and had died long ago.

The tapestry blackened, and flaked away. Mewtwo watched on, “ Stronger even than Mew. ”

Mewtwo watched the island burn. The smoke continued to rise into the sky, not allowing a single ray of light to pass.

But Mewtwo saw just fine with the fires around it.

The smoke began to clear as the thrum of a helicopter came near. Mewtwo watched on, distracted, as the helicopter stopped above him, a singular man descending down a rope to meet him.

Mewtwo allowed the man to do so - it was the strongest pokémon in the world; it felt no fear of the man .

The man stared at Mewtwo across the flames, a cold smirk on his lips as he surveyed the damage. Eventually, the man spoke, and Mewtwo almost recognized the voice, “Those fools thought you were a science experiment…” The man gazed at Mewtwo with an excited gleam in his eyes, “But I see you as a valuable partner.”

Mewtwo narrowed its eyes, “ Partner? ”

“With your psychic powers and my resources…” The man nodded to himself with a growing smile - one that Mewtwo felt was fake - “Together, we can control the world.”

Mewtwo’s eyes flashed - memories and dreams warred in his mind - “ I do not need your help for that, human. ”

“A wildfire destroys everything in its path,” The man lectured as if speaking to a gifted, but unlearned child, “It will be the same with your powers, unless you control them.”

Mewtwo held the man’s gaze as it considered his words.

I am the strongest pokémon in the world.

‘a god born in tubes.’

Yet, it had only been born mere moments ago.

The man saw the thoughtful gaze of Mewtwo and smiled wider - it was not a kind smile - “I can help you with that.”

Mewtwo tilted its head up to regard the man, “ How? ”

“I’ll show you a way to focus your powers…” The man stepped closer, mangled desire and excitement lacing his words, “That will make you invincible.”

Mewtwo considered the offer, and what it had to lose by taking it.

Nothing.

Mewtwo was new to the world. Powerful without Direction. Birthed without Meaning.

Where am I?

Who am I?

What is my Purpose?

Mewtwo had no answers to these questions that plagued him.

And the man in front of him did.

Mewtwo craned its neck to regard the human, fully, before uttering in a low, determined growl, “ Show me! ”

The man smiled.

…

Archived Code_Crystal Audio Recording, February 2nd, 1991

“It’s good to see you, my little moonlight.”

“I’m happy to see you too, Uncle!”

Light taps of rain batter against the wooden roof of the shack.

Despite the smell, there is a warmth that could only be found within.

“You know I can sense you two out there.”

“It’s raining, and I would rather not smell damp teenagers, thank you.”

A grumble and a sharp laugh.

“Told you he could see us.”

“Tch… It was worth a shot.”

Two boys follow the small girl into the shack.

Their words are lower, changing, though they are young enough that their voices still crack.

One found this humorous. The other not so much.

“Huh. You both have gotten taller.”

They both exude n air of utter smugness.

“Granted, everyone looks tall compared to moonlight, here.”

“Hey!”

The girl’s voice is small.

A child’s voice.

“Oh, please.”

“Being small isn’t anything to complain about. It helps a lot with hiding.”

“Huh, guess so…”

“She’s practically invisible when we’re playin’ hide and seek.”

The child preens at the two teenager’s words.

“Heh, I suppose she would be…”

The man is silent for a few moments.

“Well, looking at the rain, it seems like we’ll be here for a little while.”

“Do you all want to hear a story?”

“Oh, yes! Your stories are always the best, Uncle!”

“Damn… Was hopin’ to see Ares again.”

“Me too. That beast is an absolute kahuna, I’m tellin’ you.”

“First off, mind your language for the little one.”

“Secondly, knowing you boys, you’d both ask Ares to use as big of a Blast Burn as he could.”

“Well… yeah.”

“You wouldn’t?”

The man snorts.

“Fair enough. Though, I prefer to ask him when we’re in battles rather than the beach.”

“So… 9 months ago was a one time thing?”

“I never said Ares wouldn’t do so.”

“Just not right now.”

“Dam - Darn…”

“At least you caught yourself.”

“Indeed.”

“Now… What’s one that I haven’t told you?”

“You could tell them about Zeus!”

“Zeus?”

“I’ll hold off on that for the moment.”

“Oh! Oh! What about the Scorched Desert!”

“Huh, that actually sounds kinda cool.”

“You would like that name, wouldn’t you?”

“You know, I told you that story when you were three.”

“How you remember such things is beyond me, my little moonlight.”

“I remember all your stories!”

“...”

“Okay.”

“In that case, I suppose I’ll have to go with something new.”

“Actually, I think Scorched Desert sounds-”

“-Like something I can tell you at another time.”

“Hah! You got told.”

“...Shut up.”

The man allowed the two boys to bicker for a moment.

The small girl leaned forward eagerly at the prospect of another story.

She loved her Uncle’s stories.

“What about… The Bird of Rainbow Wings.”

“Oh! That one sounds exciting!”

“Sounds boring to me, honestly.”

“...Eh, we have nothing else to do.”

“Indeed.”

“Now…”

“As with everything, the beginning of this story lies in creation.”

“There lived an embodiment of absolute order amidst a sea of primordial chaos.”

“And from this, It cast Its Will, and shaped the world.”

“From Its shadow, avatars of Its Will took shape, and claimed dominion over key aspects of our reality.”

“From the skies, the Dragon God split the earth into land and sea.”

“From the land and sea, opposing titans rose to challenge one another for domination.”

“From the heavens, keepers of space, time, and distortion tied the earth down in chains.”

“From the pits, the embodiment of truth and ideals rose up to lay claim to man.”

“From the light and dark, twin beings of life and death roamed the earth.”

“From the reaches beyond, the sun and moon touched the earth with their glory.”

“And from the mountaintop to the depths, twin birds flew to cast wrath and rebirth to the world.”

“Their radiance cast a light so great that their shadows glowed bright.”

“One day, a wicked storm of fire, ice, and lightning raged in the seas.”

“Seeing this, the Bird of the Depths saw fit to lay eggs, and gave birth to triplets.”

“The Winged Children of the Elements rose to the skies, and cast dominion over the elements.”

“Their power grew so great that they rebelled, and battled against their parent for dominion over the storm.”

“The Bird of the Depths grew wrathful, and cast its children out in its rage.”

“Upon seeing this, the Bird of the Mountain grew sad, and flew ever higher into the skies.”

“For many aeons, the Bird of the Mountain flew, and it had witnessed many things.”

“It flew above when pokémon first sprouted from the ground and the sea.”

“It flew above when the legends raged for domination.”

“It flew above when man first walked the earth.”

“It flew above when the earth first shook from the terrors of war.”

“It flew above when man first became friends with pokémon.”

“It flew above when what once was hate blossomed into love.”

“And in that time, as it flew in the sky, it grew to cherish man and pokémon.”

“But the Bird of the Depths still raged after aeons, and the Bird of the Mountain was wary of betrayal.”

“One day, as it flew above man, a wicked storm grew from the seas, and tore into the coast.”

“It watched in anguish as those it had grown to love from afar perished from the depth’s wrath.”

“Seeing the end of the storm, the Bird of the Mountain decided to reveal itself, and to heal those who had died.”

“And on the day that the storm had ended, man both alive and dead witnessed the gift of the first rainbow.”

“And from that day hence, the Bird of the Mountain flies over us, and loves us still.”

“And when the Bird of the Depths awakes in rage, the Bird of the Mountain always graces us with a rainbow after the storm recedes.”

“...The end.”

“...Huh.”

“Oh, I liked that story, Uncle!”

“It is a rather nice story, isn’t it?”

There’s a moment of silence as the girl rocks back and forth in contentment.

One of the boys lean forward, a curious glint in his eye.

“There’s more to it, isn’t there?”

“Perhaps…”

The girl gasps.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Yeah, why didn’t you tell us?”

“You’re young.”

“A happy fairytale like this won’t harm you.”

“Besides, if all you care about is hearing an edgy story, then all you have to do is go to the young adult section in the library. Plenty of material there.”

“Y’know, I can understand that with the little tyke.”

“Hey!”

“But you don’t seem much older than us.”

“Nu-uh! Uncle is a wise old man who just looks young! Right, Uncle?”

“That’s right, my little moonlight.”

“I am secretly an 82-year old man who is a veteran of both the Proxy Wars and the Great War. I have trotted the globe and have received wisdom from the legends themselves…”

“One of which was to reverse my age to look younger.”

“Yes, you are absolutely correct, my little moonlight.”

“...You’re teasing me.”

“I am.”

The man spoke in a deadpan tone through all of that.

One of the boys snorts.

“Alright, then. Keep your secrets.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...So are we just gonna sit here and look stupid, or…?”

The man turns his head outside.

“The rain is letting up some…”

The man sighs to himself.

“Why not? You can play with Ares.”

“Yay!”

“Yeah!”

“Fucking finally!”

The boy who swore suddenly fell on his face.

Violently.

“Mind your language, Guzma.”

The boy grumbled to himself.

He may or may not have whispered obscenities under his breath.

He fell again.

“Do I need to repeat myself?”

“...No.”

“Good.”

“Move along then, I’ll be out in a moment.”

The boy sulks for a moment, but follows the other two to the beach.

The man waits for a moment, then sighs.

“It’s times like this that I wish you were here.”

One of the pokeballs on the man’s belt rattles.

Reassuring.

“...Nevermind.”

The man stepped forward, only to pause for a moment.

Afterwards, he spoke four words.

“Code Crystal: 1 Hour.”

End of Recording - Code_Crystal Protocol - ‘1’ Standard Hour Length